New Solutions-A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy最新文献

Editor's Note: One cannot publish this speech without acknowledging that the speaker, who condemned the British Crown for reducing Britain's white colonists to metaphorical slavery, held human beings of color in literal slavery. They had even more reason to make such a speech against him than he did against the Crown. That said, the speech itself summons its audience not to flinch or hesitate in the face of tyranny but to resist with courage. It is a much-needed warning for our own time.-Darius Sivin.

Workers who respond to disasters are disproportionately at risk of injury, illness, and death, resulting in devastating effects on communities. This policy statement aims to address the health and safety concerns workers face in disaster response and clean-up scenarios and underscores the need for equity, resilience, and capacity building through education and training. Opportunities to strengthen local, state, and federal responses to disasters are needed to ensure the equitable protection of workers across all occupations and backgrounds. Public health professionals must advocate for (1) the establishment of protocols for the proper enforcement of policies and programs related to the health and safety of disaster workers; (2) the provision of high-quality and effective health and safety training to disaster workers, including mental health curricula; and (3) the adoption of a systematic approach to training that includes resources to prepare workers for risks in all stages of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. The inclusion of all people affected in the impacted communities will ultimately benefit the broader public health.

From Upton Sinclair's The Jungle published in 1906 to the 2019 Report by Human Rights Watch, When We're Dead and Buried Our Bones Will Keep Hurting, the continuous hazardous working conditions facing workers in meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants have been well documented. Sinclair singled out the breakneck line speeds as the key source of worker misery over 100 years ago. Meatpacking workers still face dangerous working conditions that now result in injury rates 3 times the national average, exceptionally high numbers of amputations and lacerations, and extraordinarily high rates of repetitive trauma disorders. Declared essential workers who worked throughout the pandemic, meatpacking workers, and their communities suffered disproportionally high rates of COVID-19 infections, illnesses, and deaths. Congressional reports documented the meat industry's failure to protect workers during the pandemic, underscoring how the meat and poultry industry not only failed to implement effective mitigation measures but actually fought to avoid protecting workers. As a result, meatpacking plants witnessed some of the worst outbreaks in the country, endangering not only workers but their families and their local communities - resulting in preventable widespread illness and death. Government studies found that the overwhelming majority of meatpacking workers infected with the coronavirus were racial and ethnic minorities.

In Canada and the United States, many low-paid service providers are required to work long hours in a static standing posture. Women, young people, and low-paid workers are significantly more likely to report standing without moving at work. Prolonged sitting has received negative publicity, being associated with low caloric expenditure and, in some studies, with heart disease. Standing is often recommended, with static standing often conflated with walking. But prolonged standing has been associated with pain in the lower limbs and back, varicose veins, damage to arteries, heart disease, and problem pregnancies. Many US and Canadian jurisdictions such as the province of Quebec, Canada, include mandatory provision of seats in their occupational health regulations. Despite these regulations and subsequent jurisprudence, few cashiers, receptionists, or retail sales staff in these two countries can access seats at work. This article suggests some reasons for the lack of enforcement, describes efforts to transform this situation, and critically examines approaches to legislation, inspection, and intervention.

Mask shortages during COVID-19 led to the adoption of reusable textile masks; research into their performance and optimal washing conditions can guide domestic laundering to encourage their use, decreasing plastic pollution. The study tested four washing methods for cleaning artificially contaminated facepieces. These conditions included nonbiological detergent at 30°C, Reference Detergent 3 (RD3) at 40°C and 60°C, and fortified RD3 (sodium perborate + tetraacetylethylenediamine) at 40°C. After washing, the facepieces were tumble- or air-dried. The effectiveness was determined by measuring bacteria reduction by standard plate count, achieving a target reduction of ≥99.99% and a benchmark cleanliness requirement (for surgical masks) of ≤ 30 CFU/g (EN 14683: 2019). All met the benchmark except 30°C nonbiological detergent washes with air drying. Oxidative bleach reduced RD3 performance. This research demonstrates that heavily contaminated reusable masks can be effectively decontaminated using domestic machines on a normal wash cycle (40 degrees).

A prospective cohort of 4964 HCWs from four Canadian provinces was established early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were invited to comment about workplace mental health supports at three time points. We performed a thematic content analysis of responses from 1738 participants using the Social Support Behaviour Code framework to categorize barriers to support as informational, tangible, emotional, social, or expressing esteem. Themes were synthesized into suggestions for healthcare organizations to prepare for future crises. Formal and informal peer support, workplace mental health supports, and one-on-one counseling were most often mentioned as valued. Analysis suggested that workplace social networks as a source of support and mental health supports would have been appreciated. HCWs perceived that a lack of tangible workplace supports, such as staffing, compensation, and time off, were barriers to well-being. Medical workplaces could consider the availability of tangible supports in addition to developing formal mental health supports for healthcare workers.