Oral

In September 2011 the first national conference on occupational health and safety disparities will bring together researchers and community partners from multiple disciplines and perspectives to address the social, cultural, and economic factors related to work that create and perpetuate disparities. In this session, representatives from five conference white papers will summarize the discussion from the conference. 1)Work Organization. This paper will address the impact of work organization on occupational health disparities, especially the effects of contingent work, forced overtime, downsizing, contracting out, etc., leading to increased job insecurity/instability. 2)Workplace Injustice: Discrimination, Abuse, and Harassment. The white paper will present the state of the evidence for relationships between work-related injustices and health outcomes and explore how they may lead to health disparities among workers. 3)Approaches to Education and Training. The paper will focus on effective and promising solutions to meeting the unique challenges of conducting education and training with worker populations experiencing disparities. 4)The Health of the Low-income Workforce: Integrating Public Health and Occupational Health Approaches. This paper will examine the barriers, successes, and opportunities for better integrating occupational health and public health infrastructure with a focus on programs that target low-income communities and workplaces. 5)The Effects of Social, Economic, and Labor Policies on Occupational Health Disparities. This paper will explore the breadth of policies(social, economic, or labor) that influence disparities, develop case studies focusing on the effects of specific policies on health inequities for workers as well as employers, and offer examples of how policies could be modernized.

Session Objectives: Identify five mechanisms by which occupational health disparities can develop or be perpetuated and discuss solutions for eliminating them.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)