Total Worker Health


U.S. House to Consider 2020 Appropriations Bill for Labor, HHS This Week

H.R. 2740 would provide a total of $13.3 billion in discretionary appropriations for the Department of Labor, including $298 million for the DOL Wage and Hour Division and $661 million for OSHA, which would be an increase of $103 million above the 2019 enacted level.

Younger workers are more receptive to health and safety recognition/rewards programs and more likely to believe that, given the large percentage of our lives we spend working, we should be able to pursue a healthier lifestyle both at work and on our own time.

Keeping Them Healthy is Keeping Them Safe

Having a highly engaged workforce should be the goal of every department in a company. Engaged employees are simply far more likely to work harder, smarter, and safer.

CDC Researchers Report Decline in New Diabetes Diagnoses

CDC Researchers Report Decline in New Diabetes Diagnoses

CDC researchers reported Tuesday that new cases of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. decreased by 35 percent since a peak in 2009. The CDC said this is the first sign that efforts to stop the U.S. diabetes epidemic are working.

WHO Officially Recognizes Workplace Burnout as Occupational Phenomenon

The World Health Organization has officially classified workplace burnout as an occupational phenomenon.

Wearable Sensors: 'Tremendous Opportunity,' Some Challenges

Potential benefits of the technologies include preventing and mitigating injuries, decreasing the extent and duration of disability, enhancing employee wellness, and improving productivity. Injury prevention studies of wearable technologies' effect are rare, however, and employee acceptance of them could be an implementation challenge, two speakers said during an AIHce EXP 2019 session.

Almost Half of Workplaces Offer Health, Wellness Programs: CDC

Almost half of all U.S. workplaces offered some kind of health or wellness program in 2017, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

New California Program Supports Clean Mobility Projects

The $17 million program focuses on the needs of smaller groups and communities to provide clean mobility solutions that include car- bike- or scooter-sharing projects and subsidies for transit or car-hailing companies.

Study Links Secondhand Smoke to Early Vascular Aging in Flight Attendants

Flight attendants with past exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) have preclinical signs of accelerated vascular (blood vessel) aging, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.



DOL Launches New Resource to Help Employers Understand Mental Health Issues

The U.S. Department of Labor, in coordination with the Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy and its Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion, has launched a new resource to help employers better understand mental health issues and to provide guidance on how to cultivate a supportive workplace.

NSC Survey: 75 Percent of Employers Report Workplace Affected by Opioids

According to a survey released by the National Safety Council as part of Poison Prevention Week, 75 percent of U.S. employers report that their workplace has been directly affected by opioids, but only 17 percent feel extremely well prepared to deal with the problem.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb Resigns

According to CNN, Gottlieb is leaving to spend more time with his family. He had been commuting to Washington weekly from his home in Connecticut.

NIOSH Announces Free, Confidential Screenings for Coal Miners

The screenings are intended to detect coal workers' pneumoconiosis, or black lung, early. Black lung is a serious but preventable occupational lung disease caused by coal miners breathing respirable coal mine dust.

Study Shows High Pesticide Exposure Linked to Poor Sense of Smell Among Farmers

Study Shows High Pesticide Exposure Linked to Poor Sense of Smell Among Farmers

At the start of the study, about 16 percent of participants reported having experienced a high pesticide exposure event (HPEE), such as a large amount of pesticide spilling on their body. They were asked 20 years later if they suffered olfactory impairment, a partial to complete loss of sense of smell.

Research Shows Waste Collection Systems Contribute to Musculoskeletal Issues for UK Workers

The research, published in the latest edition of IOSH's Policy and Practice in Health and Safety Journal, investigated musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in workers as a result of different systems used for recycling and waste collection.

First Responder Crisis Intervention Bill Signed into Law in Massachusetts

The new law will require the state's police and fire stations to offer crisis intervention services to assist first responders who are coping with psychological trauma or stress.

UAE Gives $6.5 Million to Aid Hurricane Harvey Recovery

The gift will support the creation of a short-term housing facility for the Homeless Navigation Center, construction of a new community center run by local nonprofit Avenue CDC, reopening of the Flores Neighborhood Library, and expansion of Houston Health Department services, including new mobile health clinics.

2019 Billion Steps Challenge Under Way

The Billion Steps Challenge began Jan. 1, 2019, and aims to promote good health and physical activity. APHA is observing National Public Health Week during April 1-7.

New Minnesota Law to Help First Responders Get Workers' Comp for PTSD

The new law states that if a public safety employee such as a firefighter, corrections officer, or paramedic is diagnosed with PTSD, it will be presumed that the disorder is work-related.

ASSP Foundation Releases Fatigue Report

"By setting parameters, we identified behavioral changes in how people conduct work over time," said Dr. Lora Cavuoto, the project's principal investigator. "Wearable technology can uncover precursors to larger problems and help establish safety interventions that may call for scheduled breaks, posture adjustments, or vitamin supplements that help the body."

NIOSH Develops Tools to Help Identify and Assess Areas of Dampness and Mold

Dampness can promote the growth of mold, bacteria, fungi, and insects. Workers and others in damp buildings can be exposed to airborne pollutants from biological contaminants and the breakdown of building materials.

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