Introduction: Asbestos has been employed in a myriad of industrial applications for more than a century. Of the 181 Mt of asbestos produced worldwide, over 31 Mt was consumed in the U.S. The production and consumption of this mineral eventually was found to cause asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. While the brunt of the human exposure to asbestos occurred in insulation work, many more workers in other jobs were expose to asbestos fibers. Very little is known about the potential exposure to asbestos in research labs. Goal: In order to investigate potential research lab work exposures, we simulated lab work with various asbestos-containing items commonly found in research laboratories: 6 wire gauze pads, 3 gloves, 3 beaker tongs, and 3 Transite boards. All samples were analyzed by Phase Contrast Microscopy and, when appropriate, by Transmission Electron Microscopy and Polarized Light Microscopy. Results: All tested items were confirmed by bulk sampling to have asbestos fibers in their composition. Exposures from the 7 wire gauze pads were significantly lower than the PEL and the excursion limit, the highest exposure concentration measuring 0.029 f/cc. For the 3 beaker tongs with asbestos sleeves, exposure was below the PEL for 2 of the 3, with one resulting in an exposure of 0.160 f/cc (8-h TWA = 0.01 f/cc). For the Transite boards had the highest exposures of all tested items, with a maximum concentration of 0.320 f/cc (8-h TWA = 0.02 f/cc). Conclusion: Asbestos exposure in our simulated research lab work was significantly lower than any of the historical exposures associated with asbestos-related disease including cancer.

This exploratory study examines the lived experience of Green Cross traumatologists deployed to the New York City World Trade Center disaster. The deployment took place five days after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The author was a member of a ten member advance team that provided crisis stabilization services to an international union in Lower Manhattan. Disaster Mental Health Services and community outreach were provided for a month. The purpose of the study was to describe in an anthropologically holistic perspective the lived experience of traumatologists, who as Americans were also affected by the terrorist disaster. Thirty-one traumatologists participated in the study. Ethnographic methods included participant observation and informal interviews during the first week of the deployment. In-depth interviews were conducted after deployment and ranged from one to three hours in length. Interviews were audio taped, transcribed and analyzed with the assistance of N-vivo software. The author's story is among the narratives. Narratives of lived experience reflect the continuity of life and give meaning to experience within a cultural context. Findings reveal the shared meaning attributed to lived experience in a disaster environment, cultural continuity and change and impact of disaster deployment on the health and safety of the helper. Recommendations for future research, policy and training are offered.

This study proposes a model to test the relationships amongst supervisors' health behaviors and leadership behaviors. Specifically, 107 supervisor-subordinate pairs responded to a cross-sectional survey. Supervisors provided self-reports of their health behaviors (physical activity, diet, sleep, alcohol/tobacco use) and perceived well-being. Subordinates rated the supervisors' perceived leadership style and the quality of relationships they share at work. Results were mixed with support largely being found for previously established relationships between (a) physical activity, sleep duration and quality, and well-being, and (b) leadership behaviors and supervisor-subordinate relationship quality. The primary thesis of this study--that leaders with improved health behaviors and well-being will engage in more active leadership behaviors and fewer passive behaviors--was not supported. This study served as a first-step towards a more sophisticated understanding of how a healthy lifestyle impacts leaders' at-work behaviors and performance.

Low back disorders (LBDs) are the most common musculoskeletal problem among farmers, with higher prevalence rates than in other occupations. Operators of tractors and other farm machinery such as combines and all terrain vehicles (ATV) can have considerable accumulation of exposure to whole body vibration (WBV). The causal relationship between LBDs and WBV is not fully clear; however, it may be different among farmers as their work context and exposure is unique. Objectives: The objectives of the two studies which form two manuscripts or chapters in this thesis were to: 1) investigate the associations between WBV and LBDs among farmers using a) systematic review (manuscript 1) and cohort studies (manuscript 2). Methods: Objective 1: Nine databases were searched using groups of terms for two concepts: ‘farming’ and ‘low back disorder’. Screening, data extraction and quality assessment was performed by two reviewers independently. The population was adult farmers or agricultural workers globally irrespective of sex. The intervention was considered to be WBV exposure, such tractor, combine and ATV use. The control was no exposure or low exposure to WBV and the outcome was low back disorders. No limits in date of publication and type of study design were applied in the literature search, and only full text, English language studies were considered. Objective 2: The data source was the Saskatchewan Farm Injury Cohort Study. In 2007, baseline data were collected on accumulated yearly tractor, combine, ATV operation, as well as several biopsychosocial covariates thought to be associated with LBDs. Follow-up data on LBDs and related symptoms were collected during 2013 (6 year follow-up) and 2014 (1-year). This resulted in two datasets for each of two cohorts: 1) the first cohort with 1,149 farm people who had been followed for six years, and 2) the second with 605 participants who had been followed for one year. Generalized estimating equation-modified Poisson regressions were performed with low back and hip symptoms as the outcome. Results: Objective 1: After 276 full texts screened, we found 12 articles which analyzed WBV as a risk factor for LBD. Three were case-control, 6 cross-sectional and 3 retrospective cohorts. Four studies showed no association between WBV and LBDs, 4 studies showed a positive association and for the remaining 4 studies, results were mixed depending on the exposure or the outcome measure. Objective 2: The adjusted model in cohort 1 found LBDs to be associated to tractor operation for 1-150 hrs/year (RR=1.23, 95%CI 1.05-1.44), 151-400 hrs/year (RR=1.32, 95%CI 1.14-1.54) and 401+ hrs/year (RR=1.34, 95%CI 1.15-1.56). In addition, tractor operation for 151-400 hrs/year (RR=1.95, 95%CI 1.45-2.62) and 401+ hrs/year (RR=1.79, 95%CI 1.32-2.45) was also found to be related to hip symptoms. Although combine operation ≥ 61 hrs/year and ATV operation 81+ days/year was related to LBD in the bivariate analysis in cohort 1, this association did not persist after adjustment for confounders. Due to limited power, no significant bivariate association was found between WBV and either LBDs and hip symptoms in cohort 2. Conclusions: Objective 1: A firm conclusion is difficult due to heterogeneity in statistical strategy, LBDs definition, type of farm commodity, and study design. Direct comparisons and synthesis were not possible. Although retrospective cohort studies tended to show a relationship, future studies with a prospective cohort design can help clarify this association further. Objective 2: Although duration of tractor operation and older age showed with both LBDs and hip symptoms in farmers in cohort 1, the true prospective cohort 2 found no significant association between WBV and LBDs.

This dissertation is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in San Pedro Amuzgos, Oaxaca and on La Coasta Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. In it I trace the movements of migrant farmworkers who come from southern Mexico to work in the grape fields of Sonora. Within that context of movement and change, I focus on understanding how illnesses are perceived and how they are healed. First I explore this issue, in depth, in their homeplace in rural Oaxaca. I follow specific illness events among residents of Amuzgos and I allow individuals actions and their reflections on those actions act as a corrective to static notions of the "Latino Folk Illnesses" that exemplify the way in which residents of this small village conceptualize their bodily problems. Local understandings of illnesses are embedded in the village as a specific Place where the topography of the village is inhabited by dangerous spirits that cause health problems for the Amuzgos. To heal, is to heal the Place where negative things occurred as well as the bodies that manifest negative symptoms. Following the Amuzgos up to the fields of Sonora, I focus on how the changing environmental context influences their perceptions of the sources of illnesses and the ways in which they treat them. In particular, I focus on the ways in which they conceptualize the health problems that arise from exposures to the pesticides that are ubiquitous in the fields and camps where they live and work.

Respirators are used to minimize the exposure to air contaminants. A good fit is essential for the effective functioning of a respirator. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires an annual respirator fit testing. Respirator fit can be assessed either qualitatively or quantitatively. Two studies were conducted to assess the fit testing program with specific objectives to: (1) assess leak rates in full and half mask respirators; (2) assess the effectiveness of "feedback"1 on the quality of fit; (3) evaluate the effect of daily beard growth on respirator leak rates. In the first study, it was found that the half mask respirator has a significantly lower leak rate than the full face respirator. A significant reduction in leak rate in both respirator types with "feedback" was also observed. The finding that half mask respirators have lower leak rates directly contradicts American National Standard Institute's (ANSI) guidelines of higher Assigned Protection Factor (APF) for full mask respirator. Further studies are necessary to determine these findings and to amend respirator recommendations in the future. As expected in the second study, beard growth was associated with respirator leak rate. The effect of daily growth on leak rate over a period of twelve days could be defined by a second order regression equation. An attempt was made to describe some characteristics of beard that affect the leak rate. After 12 days of beard growth, it was found that the aspect ratio (length/diameter) of hair was inversely correlated with leak rate (r = 0.64). 1Feedback: A numerical value measuring the minimum leak rate that can be gotten from a respirator fitting with a normal donning.

After the Mining Code of 1884, Zacatecas residents saw the mining industry encroach on their water sources and menace the public health of the city. The Code allowed for the privatization of land by foreign nationals, denouncements of mines, and water rights to local sources. Municipal officials and residents soon faced a shortage of drinking water and firewood as severe drought settled in the region, along with a devastating monetary crisis. Residents voiced public health concerns with cholera, floods, and abattoirs and pushed for investment in water infrastructure, rabies vaccines, and drainage projects. Miners established unions to represent their claims in injuries and to have silicosis-tuberculosis recognized as an occupational disease. Using public and private archives, newspapers, union documents, and government correspondence, this study demonstrates how municipal officials and mining companies understood public health and occupational health, and to what extent residents tolerated the industry's hold on water. While the historiography of the city emphasizes the economics of colonial silver mining, this study examines the social and environmental links between the industry and the city as mining companies blocked union activity and water management efforts.

The introduction of computers in working life has changed the very nature of many jobs and the entire work situation for a great number of people. How has this affected the individual´s health and well being? With the large increase in the use of computers we have witnessed an increase in reports on negative effects on users´health. The puropose of this thesis is to describe a number of studies on health effects of office computerisation conducted over a period of 20 years. The emphasis of the early studies was on psychosocial factors and stress effects while the focus in the more recent studies was to take into account occupational health in software development. The following conclusions have been drawn: We still face severe problems concerning the computer users´health and work environment. Much of the negative health effects are associated with stress. The introduction of new computer systems can result in an increase in various work-related health risks. These risks are related to several interacting factors, with two of the more important factors being work organisation and contents and design ot the computer system. Current methods, models and tools for system development are insufficient to prevent work environment and health problems encountered in administrative case handling work. To counteract these problems more attention needs to be given to social and organisational factors during system development.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Med.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1981.

Occupational diseases are a significant issue worldwide. These diseases cause major economic and social problems and influence statistics representing sick-leave periods, disabilities, and even deaths. In the developed countries, work within the health care system is considered among the jobs that are associated with highest risk of developing occupational skin diseases, diseases caused by biological materials as well as illnesses of musculoskeletal systems. In the European Union, approximately 15% of the employees state that they spend over a half of their working day in the environment that is polluted with toxic materials. Within the health care system and the social care sector, 17% of the employees manage or are exposed to toxic materials and products, while 12% work in the environment where, in the air that they breathe, there are aerosols, dust, and biological materials. Between 4.0% and 13.0% of the European Union employees think that their immediate work environment is directly related with health problems. Up to 13% of the personnel working in the health care system and the social care sector are convinced that chemical materials present in the work environment serve as causes of skin problems that they experience. In the United States, up to 14% of the health care personnel develop bronchial asthma, an illness that is caused by working conditions. Moreover, 43% of nurses and 29% of doctors experience micro-traumas (pricking – in the majority of cases). As a... [to full text]