3051.0: Monday, November 13, 2000: 12:30 PM-2:00 PM

Research Priorities for Eliminating Occupational Health Disparities-Perspectives from the NORA Special Populations at Risk Team

As we enter the 21st century, the composition of the workforce is rapidly changing. Jobs are shifting from the manufacturing to the service sector and many new jobs are based on temporary, contract and non-union labor. The number of female, minority and immigrant workers continues to grow, and as the baby boomer population ages so does the workforce. Welfare reform has created a new pool of unskilled and low-wage workers. In California, where the economy has seem unprecedented expansion, seven out of 10 new jobs created pay less than $24,000 per year. Many of these new jobs are considered "high-strain" work, placing workers at disproportionate risk for exposure to many well-know occupational health risk factors. The occupational health community is now facing new challenges in determining innovative methods of documenting and controlling these exposures and the illnesses and injuries that can result. As part of the National Occupational Research Agenda, the Special Populations at Risk Team was created to help chart the course for how best to meet these needs. This panel presentation will summarize the occupational health challenges for research and intervention in three specific populations: the aging workforce, immigrant low-wage service sector workers, and minority workers. This will be followed by a summary of some of the major challenges facing researchers interested in these issues and provide an opportunity for discussion and input into how the NORA team can best promote an effective research plan for documenting and controlling occupational health disparities
See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement.
Learning Objectives: Refer to the individual abstracts for learning objectives
Presider(s):Sherry Baron, MD, MPH
Organizer(s):Sherry L. Baron, MD, MPH
12:30 PMIntroductory Remarks
12:35 PMReaching Low Wage Immigrant Workers
Pamela Tau Lee
12:51 PMHere Come the Baby Boomers: Challenges and Opportunities for Occupational
David Wegman, MD, MPH
1:07 PMAddressing Minority Occupational Health Issues: Lessons From the Jackson
Frances Henderson
1:23 PMResearch Priorities for Eliminating Occupational Health Disparities:
Letitia Davis, ScD
1:39 PMDiscussion
Sponsor:Occupational Health and Safety
Cosponsors:Caucus on Refugee and Immigrant Health; Environment; Labor Caucus; Public Health Nursing

The 128th Annual Meeting of APHA