This study applies the Washington State Ergonomics Tool to waste industry jobs in Texas. Exposure data were collected by on-site observation of fourteen different multi-task jobs in a major national solid waste management company employing more than 26,000 employees. This company has nationwide operations, and these jobs represent the majority of workers involved in the collection and processing of solid waste. The WSET uses observational checklist methodology to evaluate generic risk factors in the following six major categories: awkward posture, highly repetitive motion, high hand force, repeated impact, lifting, and hand-arm vibration. The assessment tool incorporates these risk factors and combinations of risk factors into checklists for identifying three levels of potential exposure: safe, -caution zone" and -hazard zone" jobs. The tool was developed for employers to use in determining whether a job was likely to increase the risk of workplace musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) to their employees. OSHA 200 logs were used as the main source of morbidity data. If there was one recorded WMSD, the job was classified as -positive. "If there was no recorded WMSD, the job was classified as -negative. "-Safe"jobs were those predicted not to expose workers to increased risk of WMSDs. Those that possessed one or more -caution zone"criteria but still fell below the -hazard zone" threshold required the employer to provide -awareness education" for employees and to further analyze the job for the presence of -hazard zone" risk factors. If hazard zone risk factors were not present, no further action was required. Jobs that upon further analysis possessed one or more of the -hazard zone"criteria were labeled -hazardous" jobs. If the further analysis shows the presence of risk factors established in the hazard zone criteria (Appendix B), the employer would be required to take corrective action to reduce exposures to below the hazardous level. Of the three jobs predicted to be -safe"by -caution zone" criteria, two did not have injuries and one did. Of the eleven jobs predicted by -caution zone"criteria to increase the risk of WMSDs, six resulted in injuries and five did not. Of the four jobs predicted by -hazard zone"criteria to be -problem"jobs, two jobs did result in injury and two did not. This study found that the WSET -caution zone"criteria were more effective at predicting which jobs were likely to increase the risk of WMSDs than was the -hazard zone"checklist. The caution zone had high sensitivity and low specificity. The hazard zone criteria reflect a low sensitivity and a low specificity. Further analysis revealed the WSET was helpful in predicting back injuries associated with lifting but not effective at predicting jobs with the potential for upper extremity injuries.

Abstract Drug abuse is a major public issue concerned by the general public. The objective of this research is to investigate the relation among drug behavior, mental cognition and environmental influences for the first-time adult male drug users. In addition, the correlation between mental cognition and degree of environmental influences will also be studied. Suggestions and strategies derived from the result will be proposed for government authorities for formulating an effective strategy against drug abuse. Through the study and analysis of literature references, different aspects of problems are incorporated into a questionnaire scale. A questionnaire survey is conducted on 431 drug offenders in the Penghu Prison. The results are analyzed using the SPSS 10.0 statistic software to determine the fundamental characteristics of the samples and the presence of dissimilarity and correlation between the mental cognition and environmental influences for samples with different attributes. The result revealed that, in terms of the fundamental characteristics, the age group of first-time adult male users is primarily between 18-24 years old, when teenagers are about to enter their adulthood. The ratio of first-time drug abuse declines with the increase of age. The ratio of heroin and amphetamine used in the first-time drug abuse is 46% versus 54%. Despite the expensive price and addictive nature, no significant reduction is observed in the frequency of heroin use. More single users are observed, indicating that most first-time use takes place before marriage. As for the education level, first-time users are mainly junior high school graduates, and the number declines with higher education received. In terms of occupation, the percentage of labor and driver population are the highest among first-time drug users, while the percentage of farmers, fishermen, soldiers, government servants and teachers are the lowest. Financial ability is the basic requirement of drug abuse; therefore, there is a positive correlation between the percentage of first-time adult male users and the level of monthly income. Having friends who are doing drugs is a prerequisite and hence over 90% of first-time adult male users have, on average, three drug user friends. In regard to the mental cognition, researches discovered that most adult male users are in lack of a deep and correct understanding towards the danger of drugs. Most drug users in general hold a less negative attitude towards drugs and believe they will be luckier. At the same time, they have a higher expectation towards the psychological relief which they believe can be brought upon by drugs. As for the environmental influences, peer pressure has the highest impact on the first-time adult male drug users. Other factors such as cheap drugs and easily accessible drug environment resulted from ineffective anti-drug policies, inadequate media report under highly developed society, curiosity and unhealthy social culture all have a significant influence. Family, however, does not show any significant influence over first-time adult male drug users. Finally, no significant correlation between the mental cognition of self-control on drug behavior and family influence is observed for first-time adult male users in the research conducted on the relation between mental cognition and environmental influences. Yet, a relative degree of correlation exists between the overall mental cognition and environmental influences, where a mutually amplifying characteristic is observed between the two factors. This indicates that mental cognition and environmental influences are both critical risk factors for first-time adult male drug users. Suggestions are made in our research that the promotional tasks should be reinforced, pressure management should be focused, comprehensive family functions should be established, positive development should be encouraged among peers, anti-drug units should be organized, long-term drug abuse monitoring mechanism should be constructed, and alternative thinkings should be incorporated into drug policies. The suggestions are of great importance for preventing first-time drug use by adult males and can be used as a reference by the government.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-49).

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-03, Section: B, page: 1570. Advisers: Michael E. Scheurer; Jan M. Risser. Includes bibliographical references.

Canada’s 1991 ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) means that policies to eliminate commercial sexual exploitation should be implemented equally for all children, without discrimination. However, Aboriginal peoples are disproportionately represented among Canada’s population of commercially sexually exploited children and youth. They are also more likely to experience the primary risk factors for commercial sexual exploitation – poverty, exposure to violence, and involvement in the child welfare system. I conducted a policy analysis examining the implementation in Canada of the CRC Articles related to the primary predictors of commercial sexual exploitation of children, to determine whether they are being implemented differentially for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. The findings revealed that although Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children obtained identical scores on the quantitative measures, the implementation of the relevant rights standards differed substantially across the two populations, as evident in differential funding and service provision for the two groups.

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Background: As many studies, women are more vulnerable to contract HIV through sex behavior than men from women. The low status of women also make women are more at risk of infecting with HIV. South Africa now is one of the most rapidly growing HIV epidemics in the world. In Africa, 74% of youth who get HIV/AIDS are young women and young girls. In 2005, there were 16.9 per cent women aged 15-24 years got HIV and only 4.4% men got HIV in South Africa. Objective: To identify the main internal risk factors and interventions/external factors of HIV/AIDS on young women in Africa. Data Source: Pub Med, Medline and Cochrane Library were searched for English articles from 1990 to 2011. (Keywords: HIV, AIDS, young women or girl or adolescent girl.) Results: Initial search produced 2888 articles. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 9 articles were for the final systematic review. 5 papers were about risk factors of HIV/AIDS and 4 papers were about the interventions or the factors influenced the risk factors. We identified four risk factors: intimate partner violence (IPV) and relationship power inequity, number of partners and last sexual activities, age of partner, alcohol consumption before sex. Two interventions/external factors: Microfinance with gender and HIV training curriculum and SES neighborhoods (Community level). Conclusions: We have two policy implications. First, we should ensure that preventive services, including education of young women have more accessibility. Secondly, because many young women who with older men have sex were more likely to infect with HIV, Therefore, we should make greater efforts to encourage them to adopt safer behavior. As the man play leading role in Africa, our prevention programs should focus more on men. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Research on risk factor for suicidal behaviors has been broadly conducted to enhance knowledge of suicide prevention. However, there are still challenges for risk factor research. Four major research gaps have been identified: (1) uncertain effectiveness of the population approach versus the high-risk approach for suicide prevention; (2) lack of a valid and convenient Chinese-version screening tool for the severity of suicidal ideation among adolescents; (3) demand for testing the prospective associations of risk factors with suicidal ideation using a longitudinal designed population-based sample; and (4) necessity of pathway analysis to explore and confirm how risk factors interact with each other and lead to suicidality. This thesis aims to address these gaps through a combination of five studies. Study 1 introduces an illness and death model to suicide prevention research. Elasticity and sensitivity analyses were performed. The findings revealed that the control of suicide incidence among the healthy population is the most effective prevention strategy whereas treatment of mental illness appears to be the least effective approach to suicide prevention. Study 2 validates the psychometric properties of the Chinese versions of Reynolds’s Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ) and Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire Junior (SIQ-JR, a short version of the SIQ) in a sample of Hong Kong adolescents. A short, four-item version of the SIQ-JR has been suggested as an alternative to the SIQ and the SIQ-JR. Study 3 identifies the history of psychiatric treatment, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, unstable marital status, poor economic circumstance, and a recent death of a first-degree relative as significant risk factors for the incidence of suicidal ideation. The associations of change in risk factors with the development of suicidal ideation have been tested. There are gender and age differences in the patterns of such associations. Study 4 focuses on psychological factors associated with the first-ever incidence of suicidal ideation. Psychological factors have been detected generally to differ in their associations with the incidence and persistence of suicidality. The idea that depression partially mediates the effect of average life distress on the persistence of suicidal ideation has clinical value. Study 5 introduces and tests a stressor and illness model as a theoretical framework reference for future risk factor research. Risk factors are classified into stressor, illness, and pattern factors. Both the simple and complex models are tested. Evidence supported the proposed mediating role of mental disorders between negative life events and severity of suicidal ideation. A gender-specific pattern of associations between stressors, illness, and severity of suicidal ideation has also been detected. This thesis has made substantial theoretical, psychometric, and empirical contributions to the existing knowledge of suicide research. / published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Objectives To evaluate the association between exposures to the main chemical contaminants released by the industry in freshwater and the rise in cancer cases among the population in China. Methods A systematic review was undertaken of the scientific literature compiled in the MEDLINE (via PubMed©), Google scholar, Web of Knowledge. The descriptors used were "cancer", "water pollution”, “industry” and “chemical", limited to studies that relevant to the research questions. Articles selected were of any type in English, from the inception of the indexing of the primary source until July 28th of 2013. With the quantitative data, Health impact assessment formulas are developed and then applied to subsequent data to make estimate. Results The search generated 306 articles, from which 10 were selected after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The analysis of freshwater contaminants that attributed to industry in this review included aromatic amine, vinyl chloride, benzene, hexavalent Chromium, dioxin, and others of industrial origin. The majority of the studies find a significant link between exposure to drinking water contaminants and the increase in cancer cases, especially in the rural areas. In some of the studied populations a significant dose-response relationship was observed. Discussion After reviewing the included studies and the estimation of health impact assessment, I concluded that the association between cancer risks and industrial contamination in freshwater resources in China does indeed exist. While there are several other factors that interact the cancer risks, such as agriculture related water pollution and rapid growth of population. Taking into account that most of the articles were located in western countries, more Chinese studies are required in order to know the effect of freshwater contamination on cancer risks, in particular among those who lived in rural industry area. Conclusion This study provides the first estimated health impacts based on the relationship between industrial freshwater pollution and cancer risks, supporting decision makers to formulate public health recommendations to ensure a safer and healthier environment in the future. However, further study is critically needed for the prevention of this form of contamination. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health