American journal of industrial medicine
-
Food insecurity and obesity have potential health consequences for migrant and seasonal farm workers (MSFW). ⋯ Food insecurity is rooted in the cultural lifestyle of farmwork, poverty, and dependency. MSFW obesity and food insecurity require further study to determine the relationship with migration and working conditions. Networking and social support are important for MSFW families to improve food security. Policies and community/workplace interventions could reduce risk of food insecurity and improve the health of workers.
-
Hundreds of thousands of men from rural areas of South Africa and neighboring countries have come to seek work in the gold mines. They are not immigrants in the usual sense as they work for periods in the mines, go home, and then return. This is termed oscillating or circular migration. Today we have serious interrelated epidemics of silicosis, tuberculosis, and HIV infection in the gold mining industry. ⋯ Failure to control dust and tuberculosis has resulted in serious consequences decades later. The economic and political migrant labor system provided the foundations for the epidemics seen in southern Africa today.
-
A study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among 7,579 current and former workers participating in medical screening programs at Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons facilities through September 2008 was undertaken. ⋯ Our study of construction workers employed at DOE sites demonstrated increased COPD risk due to occupational exposures and was able to identify specific exposures increasing risk. This study provides additional support for prevention of both smoking and occupational exposures to reduce the burden of COPD among construction workers.
-
The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of hearing problems among a national cohort of emergency medical service (EMS) professionals, determine factors associated with hearing problems, and estimate the percentage of EMS professionals who utilize hearing protection. ⋯ The results from this analysis are the first national estimates of the prevalence of self reported hearing problems among EMS professionals. This study was also the first to estimate the percentage of EMS professionals who self reported the utilization of hearing protection.
-
Workers in the United States with limited English proficiency likely perform more hazardous work, experience higher rates of work-related injury and illness, and have worse disability outcomes. ⋯ For those injured workers accessing the Washington State WC system, we observed differences based on language preference for pre-injury, and workers compensation outcomes. Further research is needed to explain the observed differences.