Session
Oral: Occ Health Training
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
Abstract
Double Feature: Evaluating Benefits of the NIEHS Environmental Career Worker Training Program- Lessons Learned and Best Practices in Advancing the Justice40 Initiative for Environmental Justice
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
The Justice40 Initiative was established as a whole-of-government effort to ensure that at least 40 percent of overall benefits from Federal investments in climate and clean energy flow to disadvantaged, low-income, marginalized communities of color to advance environmental justice and foster economic opportunities. As part of the interim guidance for Justice40, pilot programs were chosen to provide necessary lessons learned/best practices that better inform implementation and accountability of the Justice40 Initiative and, thereby ensure that the disadvantaged communities are benefitting from the associated investments. The National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP) is among the initial set of Justice40 pilot programs that emphasize training and workforce development. The NIEHS ECWTP consortia address the lack of access to training opportunities for underserved and underrepresented minorities who not only often work in jobs with greatest exposures to toxic substances, but also experience higher rates of injuries, illnesses and mortality in the workplace. Since 1995, the ECWTP has provided pre-employment and occupational health and safety trainings and related certifications to more than 13,500 under- and unemployed individuals from 30 underserved communities nationwide. The ECWTP delivers training (job/technical skills, life skills), wrap-around social services, and education to increase the number of disadvantaged and underrepresented minority workers in areas such as environmental restoration, construction, hazardous materials/waste handling, and emergency response. This presentation will feature NIEHS ECWTPs that represent communities across thirteen states. Critical programmatic training and workforce development strategies and partnerships will be highlighted along with results of ECWTP evaluations to identify and quantify individual, workplace, community, and socio-economic policy benefits of the programs in advancing environmental justice and health equity in these underserved communities. Implications for strengthening relevance and impact of workforce development programs targeting disadvantaged individuals from underserved communities and guiding related policy development will be discussed.
Abstract
Employee Wellness Initiative: Addressing the Underserved Employees
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
Background and Objectives: The NIOSH Total Worker Health approach involves not only protecting employees from work-related safety and health hazards, but prevention of disease and injury. With a high prevalence of chronic disease in the working population of 157 million, employee wellness programs (EWPs) are a way to improve health outcomes while reducing employer costs and improving worker productivity. EWPs that address aspects of wellness such as physical activity, nutrition, finance, and mental/emotion health are found on 1/3 of college campuses. Like other workplaces, depending on the employee's role and responsibilities, an employee’s ability to be aware of and participate in EWPs greatly vary, with some employees underserved. Many of these underserved employees do not have access to email to become informed about EWPs and/or have the ability to take time during the workday to participate in EWPs. The objectives of this study are to investigate ways to engage underserved employees and better understand their needs for EWPs.
Methods: We plan to administer a paper survey to employees in the facilities and maintenance departments at a 4-year state university. This survey asks questions about their EWP needs, best ways for EWPs to be offered for them, and ways to best communicate about EWPs. This project is approved by the institution's IRB (#22-055).
Expected Outcomes: We anticipate a high level of interest for EWPs by these employees, and the survey results will assist us in determining how best to communicate to these groups, the programs of interest to them, and the best times/ways to implement programs and interventions.
Conclusions: EWPs are critically important to improve the health of employees while reducing employer costs. In a post-COVID environment, support based on evidence-based practices will help retain employees by promoting a healthy work environment.
Abstract
Work as a Social Determinant of Health: Improving the Occupational Safety and Health Surveillance of Young Workers
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
Background and Objective(s): Work is a social determinant of health. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have stated that occupational safety and health (OSH) surveillance should be prioritized as it provides the essential information needed to identify at-risk workers and guide public health actions to improve worker safety and health. Currently, there is no systematic or routine OSH data collection related to young workers. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) provides an opportunity to examine OSH issues among working high school students.
Methods: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in conjunction with subject matter experts from academia and other government agencies, developed a set of OSH questions for placement on the national and the state, local, and territorial Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS). The questions covered topics including employment status with hours worked, job type, safety climate, volunteer and migrant work, and workplace harassment and injuries. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) cognitively tested the questions through multiple rounds of feedback via remote interviews.
Results: The finalized set of 21 OSH questions are available to state, local, and territorial government agencies as they design their individual YRBS questionnaires. NIOSH is working to promote adoption of the OSH questions and also to increase dissemination of the questions to other youth-oriented health surveys. Three of the 21 questions were submitted to the YRBSS program within CDC for potential placement on the national YRBS.
Conclusion(s): Addition of OSH questions to the YRBSS will allow researchers to assess the workplace conditions and health effects of early working experiences and provide data on a vulnerable and overlooked segment of the United States workforce. These questions will help researchers to understand how work may affect the health and well-being of high school students.