Resources on Occupational Health and Safety

Commercial Fishing and Aviation
Disabled Workers
Domestic Violence in the Workplace
Emergency Medical Services Personnel and Stress
Healthcare Workers' Ergonomics
Measuring Back Strain
Pesticides and Agricultural Workers and Their Families
Working Youth
Workplace Wellness Initiatives

Note: The online resources in list were available through these links as of September 2006.

Commercial Fishing and Aviation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Factors associated with pilot fatalities in work-related aircraft crashes--Alaska, 1990-1999. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2002 Apr 26;51(16):347-9. Erratum in: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2002 May 10;51(18):407.
This report “summarizes the result of this analysis, which found that the following factors were associated with pilot fatalities: crashes involving a post-crash fire, flights in darkness or weather conditions requiring instrument use, crashes occurring away from an airport, and crashes in which the pilot was not using a shoulder restraint. Additional pilot training, improved fuel systems that are less likely to ignite in crashes, and company policies that discourage flying in poor weather conditions might help decrease pilot fatalities.”

Conway GA, Alaska air carrier operator and pilot safety practices and attitudes: a statewide survey. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2004 Nov;75(11):984-91.
The results of operator-pilot comparisons “suggest that financial pressures on operators may influence their views on what measures would be effective in preventing crashes, and that Alaskan pilots underestimate their occupational fatality risk.”

Conway, GA, et al. Flight Safety in Alaska: Comparing Attitudes and Practices of High- and Low-Risk Air Carriers. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2005 Jan; 76(1):52-7.
Between 1990-2002, a total of 481 people died in Alaska in aviation accidents. The purpose of this study “was to examine the practices and attitudes of Alaska commuter and air taxi operators and their pilots as they relate to company fatal accident rates.” To order the paper, use the link above.

James LaBelle, Testimony of James LaBelle, Chief Northwest Field Office National Transportation Safety Board before the Transportation Subcommittee Committee on Appropriations United States Senate Regarding Aviation Safety in Alaska, December 14, 1999. NTSB, 1999.
This testimony explains what the problems with aviation safety in Alaska are and briefly outlines a three-year joint effort “to reduce the number of occupational aviation fatalities in Alaska by 50 percent for the years 2000 through 2009, and to reduce substantially the number of aviation accidents and resultant deaths in the State.”

National Transportation Safety Board. Safety Recommendation, A-95-137, December 1, 1995.
Examines air safety among Alaskan air taxi industry pilots risk taking behavior and pressure to perform under risky conditions.

Rob Stapleton. Attention to safety paying off for air carriers. Alaska Journal of Commerce, Sunday, March 19, 2006.
Newspaper article describing the current and past situation with private plane crashes in Alaska and the programs that have reduced crashes over the past few years.

Matt Volz. Alaska officials target bush pilots' culture to reduce crashes. The Associated Press. Tuesday, September 7, 2004.
Newspaper article describing the “bush pilot syndrome” - part Charles Lindbergh and part Grizzly Adams – and the problems this causes. Since one out of every 59 Alaskans is a pilot and because there is a disproportionate reliance on air travel due to the large distances, Alaska experiences a disproportionate number of crashes. Information on how additional training using flight simulators is helping reduce crashes.

PubMed Search of the Medline database. September 1, 2006.
Provides the most recent articles on the topic of flight safety, pilot error and work-related aircraft crashes in Alaska.

Search Terms
Bush pilots
Pilot error
Alaska
Risk reduction
Flight safety
Air safety
Work-related aircraft crashes
Crash prevention

Disabled Workers

CODI – Cornucopia of Disability Information, [no date].
CODI serves as a community resource for consumers and professionals by providing disability information in a wide variety of areas. It consists of both an Internet Directory of Disability Information and a repository of electronic disability documents, dating back to the early 1990s. Many of the documents on CODI are publicly available nowhere else on the Internet. Site organized by topic.

Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute. Disability Law, June 2006.
Offers an overview of disability law, including a menu of sources such as federal and state material and statutes and judicial decisions. Links to key Internet resources.

Government Sets Facilities Guidelines for Disabled Workers. Thomas.net. October 2001.
Plant managers should be aware that Washington has set specific regulations regarding the configuration of workplace furnishings. This document is “a brief guide to help managers ensure that the movable furnishings in their work place are in alignment with the ADA.”

Korn, Derek. Adapting and Advancing, MMS Online, 2006.
“Assistive technologies for machinery and shop equipment allow blind workers at this machine shop to assume more advanced, independent roles in the production of aerospace components for Boeing.” The shop is part of the Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind.

Product Spotlight - The Multi-Faceted Machine Shop. Horizons, Summer 2003.
Deaf-Blind and low-vision workers turn out millions of dollars worth of high-quality machined parts each year through the use of computerization and through rigorous training to assure that the worker’s safety is not compromised.

Stoddard, S., Jans, L., Ripple, J. & Kraus, L. (1998). Chartbook on Work and Disability in the United States, 1998. An InfoUse Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.
Organized into four main sections, this Chartbook provides “information on key issues related to work and disability, contributing to the understanding of current employment issues faced by people with disabilities.” The sections include: Prevalence of Disability Among Working-age People; Work Disability and the Labor Force; Factors Related to Work Disability; and Work-related Resources. Three appendices include a glossary, bibliography and descriptions of the surveys used to provide data for this Chartbook.

U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), September 2006.
The Office of Disability Employment Policy “provides national leadership by developing and influencing disability-related employment policy and practice affecting the employment of people with disabilities.”

Search Terms
Lighthouse for the Blind
Worker safety
Occupational health
Disabilities
Regulations
Assistive technologies
lighthouse for the blind assistive technologies
disability AND workplace
handicaps

Domestic Violence in the Workplace

American Bar Association, Commission on Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence and the Workplace, [no date].
Download and read Commission publications, obtain trainings on the application of employment laws to the experiences and needs of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, view a PowerPoint presentation titled, “Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking and the Workplace, a PowerPoint Presentation”, and read Robin H. Thompson’s article titled, “Domestic Violence and the Workplace: 10 Smart "Nuts and Bolts" Steps for Employers”.

American Institute on Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence in the Workplace Statistics, 2001. 2001.
Provides statistics on the national cost of domestic violence, on senior executives’ attitudes to work place domestic violence, on the personal cost to victims, on who commits violence and homicide, and on battered workers.

Ascione, Frank R. Claudia V. Weber, M.S., and David S. Wood (1997), The Abuse of Animals and Domestic Violence: A National Survey of Shelters for Women Who Are Battered, Society and Animals 5(3).
This is a reprinting of an article that originally appeared in Society and Animals. Useful overview with stories of the intersection of human cruelty, animal abuse and child maltreatment.

Ascione, Frank R. and Paul Arkow (1999). Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Animal Abuse: Linking the Circles of Compassion for Prevention and Intervention. Purdue University Press. ISBN: 1557531439.
“Evidence is mounting that animal abuse, frequently embedded in families scarred by domestic violence and child abuse and neglect, often predicts the potential for other violent acts.” (Abstract).

Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (CAEPV). Workplace Statistics, [no date].
Figures given in this document are based on a telephone survey of 1,200 full-time employed adults across the US done between July and September 2005 CAEPV). “Among the major findings were that 66% of those surveyed indicated they were not aware of their employer having a workplace domestic violence policy, 44% of full-time employed adults surveyed personally experienced domestic violence's effect in their workplaces, and most remarkably, 21% of full-time employed adult respondents (men and women) identified themselves as victims of intimate partner violence.”

County of Milwaukee. Workplace Violence Prevention Policy, [no date].
An increasing number of worksites have made their workplace violence policy statements available on their Web sites. This is one of them. Look for the policy, goals and objectives of the policy, definitions of terms, procedures, and responsibilities of managers, supervisors, and employees. Guidelines for responding to violence are also written out for use.

Critical Incident Response Group, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia. Workplace Violence: Issues in Response, [2002?].
From June 10 to 14, 2002, the NCAVC “hosted a “Violence in the Workplace” symposium at the Lansdowne Resort and Conference Center in Leesburg, Virginia. A collaborative effort, consisting of representatives from law enforcement, private industry, government, law, labor, professional organizations, victim services, the military, academia, mental health, and members of the NCAVC and CIRG’s Crisis Negotiation Unit came together to share their expertise on this important issue.”

“The agenda included plenary sessions and presentations, panel discussions, and afternoon breakout groups. This monograph is the culmination of those efforts, looking at the latest thinking and best practices. It is hoped this monograph will serve as a useful and practical guide to businesses, small and large, and government in implementing a proactive workplace violence prevention strategy.”

After an introduction to the problem, this report describes preventing violence, law enforcement’s changing role with respect to workplace violence, domestic violence and stalking in the workplace, legal issues, challenges, and dealing with the aftermath. An entire chapter is devoted to violence against healthcare workers. Chapter IX offers a summary of recommendations/suggestions for further research. Two appendices describe the agenda and give a list of participants with their titles and minimal contact information.

Family Violence Prevention Fund. The Facts on the Workplace and Domestic Violence, 2002.
This PDF document describes the prevalence of workplace domestic violence, examines employer’s perspectives on the topic and offers some information on the costs in lost productivity, wrongful death, and medical and mental health care services.

Humane Society of the United States. Animal Cruelty/Domestic Violence Fact Sheet, 2006.
Document makes the connection between animal cruelty and human violence. Helps the reader understand the batterer’s motives and helps to raise awareness and recognition of the problem.

Lockwood, Randall and Frank Ascione (1998). Cruelty To Animals And Interpersonal Violence: Readings In Research And Application. Purdue University Press. ISBN: 1557531064.
Examines the roots of violence that connect child maltreatment, spouse and partner abuse.

MedlinePlus: Domestic Violence Takes Toll in Workplace. Reuters, August 18, 2006.
Short Reuters news article on intimate partner violence. It describes how “intimate partner violence costs nearly $1.8 billion in lost productivity a year, with nearly 8 million paid workdays lost.” Be sure to visit MedlinePlus’s Domestic Violence page for information on coping, prevention, organizations, statistics and law and policy.

Partnering in Workplace Violence Prevention: Translating Research to Practice. National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH), Baltimore, November 15 - 17, 2004.
This was a working conference that brought together a diverse group of business/labor leaders, researchers, professional associations, policy makers/legislators, and victim's rights advocates. Using enable facilitated small group discussions of key issues and questions the conference enabled participants to brainstorm best practices in workplace violence prevention.

Workforce Management. Sample Domestic Violence Prevention Policy. 2006.
A sample domestic violence policy outlining the definition of domestic violence
and the company’s response protocol.

Search Terms
Domestic violence
Domestic partners
Intimate partners
Violence
Partner violence
Workplace
Workplace violence

Emergency Medical Services Personnel and Stress

Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Program. Nebraska Health and Human Services, [no date].
The Nebraska Critical Incident Stress Management Program “trains volunteers to provide crisis support to reduce the harmful effects of critical incident stress for; law enforcement officers; firefighters; emergency medical services, corrections, hospitals, and emergency management personnel; and dispatchers.” This is an example of many Web sites dealing with stress management.

Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). Emergency Medical Services, Public Health – Seattle & King County, April 20, 2006.
There are “many methods to deal with a stress response syndrome. One such method is known as Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). A CISD is an organized approach to the management of stress responses in emergency services. It entails either an individual or group meeting between the rescuer and a caring individual(s). The goal of the CISD is to protect and support emergency services personnel and to minimize the development of abnormal stress response syndromes with may cause lost time and effectiveness at the work and problems within the family.”

Emergency Medical Services, [no date]
This page contains links to many full-text trauma-related articles readable on the internet. Rescuing the Rescuer: Critical Incident Stress Management, How Can Emergency Responders Manage their Own Response to a Traumatic Event? are two of the titles linked to on the page.

Everly, George S. (editor). Innovations in Disaster and Trauma Psychology, Vol. 2: CISM - A New Era and Standard of Care in Crisis Intervention. Chevron Publishing Corporation, 1996. ISBN: 1883581036.
Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) is “a programmatic approach to reducing the frequency, duration, severity of, and impairment from, psychological stress.” Available from Amazon.com.

Fishkin, Gerald L. Firefighter and Paramedic Burnout. Harcourt, 1990. ISBN: 0156310600.
Fishkin knows the fire service well, and describes all the symptoms, causes, and preventive measures to keep burnout at bay. He also details the consequences to individuals and to the organization of failing to intervene in early burnout. Available from Amazon.com.

Hopson, Judi Light, Emma H. Hopson, and Jeff T. Dyar. Burnout to Balance: EMS Stress. New York: Prentice Hall, 2000. ISBN: 0130078069.
”Prepares the reader to face stress in workplace settings as well as balancing work and family. Includes case studies, how to make positive changes in order to reduce stress, tips for improving relationships and dealing with workplace politics, and more. For students and EMS personnel.”

MERGINET.com - The Ultimate EMS Resource. [no date].
MERGINET is a virtual reading room of EMS information and provides regular updates on EMS products, clinical information, and management strategies. It offers a free monthly Webzine, links and resources, downloads and more. Combines useful articles on stress and protective equipment.

Mikolaj, Alan. Stress Management for the Emergency Care Provider. Prentice Hall, 2004. ISBN: 0130096865.
Examines “the phenomena of stress and critical incident stress in the emergency services professions. Explores the latest in stress management techniques and the discussions and controversies in the literature.” Available from Amazon.com.

Mitchell, Jeff & Grady Bray. Emergency Services Stress: Guidelines on Preserving the Health and Careers of Emergency Services Personnel. Prentice Hall, 1989. ISBN: 0893036870.
This book “provides information on the most up-to-date concepts, strategies, and tactics in stress reduction and health enhancement.” Available from Amazon.com.

Mitchell, Jeffrey T., H. L. Resnik, and R. A. Cowly. Emergency Response to Crisis. ISBN: 0876198566.
Information “on assessment and management of various crises that are commonly encountered by emergency services personnel.” Addresses the issue of job stress. Also available from Amazon.com.

Seaward, Brian Luke. Managing Stress in EMS. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2000. ISBN: 0763710083.
Alerts to the stressors in life and “teaches how to identify problem situations and how to effectively resolve issues in order to lead a healthier, more fulfilling lifestyle. Contains info specific to EMS, including: PTSD, CISD, and gallow's humor.” Also available from Amazon.com.

Sheeran, Beth. Stress Management for EMS. [no date].
Seventeen PowerPoint slides dealing with the topic of stress management for EMS including types of stress, identifying stress, what you can do about relieving stress and healthy living suggestions.

Search Terms
Preventing stress
Stress
Stress reduction
Stress management
Mental health
Posttraumatic stress disorder
burnout
EMS workers

Healthcare Workers’ Ergonomics

Back Injury among Healthcare Workers: Causes, Solutions, and Impacts, Edited by William Charney and Anne Hudson. CRC Press, 2003. $89.95.
“Back injury among healthcare providers is an increasingly visible issue in the occupational health and safety arena. This book presents the latest research and information on this topic from an epidemiological, legal, and equipment manufacturing point of view. Using case histories from a number of injured healthcare workers, the book analyzes back injuries from the worker's point of view and gives a detailed discussion of the legal and rehabilitation pitfalls that workers face when dealing with an injury. The author compares US and international regulations for prevention and rehabilitation and explores scientific strategies to prevent future problems.”

Ergonomics in Healthcare, Arnot Ogden Medical Center, 2006.
The primary purpose of this Web site is “to provide access to a wealth of free Web-based educational tools and useful informational resources that are available to address the growing problem of ergonomic injury in healthcare services. The resources highlighted at this educational Web site are intended to offer BOTH healthcare employers and healthcare workers with important information to help guide them through the recognition, management and prevention of work-related ergonomic injuries.”

Hodge, Alan. Back Care for Nurses. SpineUniverse.com, May 23, 2005.
Nursing is the riskiest occupation for back injuries according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (1998). This article describes work-related musculoskeletal disorders involving time away from work and some of the recent research on back injuries in nurses. Risk factors for back injuries and prevention activities are described. Eight references are given from the research literature. Related articles point the reader to additional information.

Lifting Patients/Residents/Clients in Health Care Washington State 2005. Report to the Washington State Legislature House Commerce and Labor Committee, January 2006.
This report was prepared by Department of Labor and Industries staff with Lifting in Health Care Task Force input. After a brief introduction to the problem of the risks of lifting patients in healthcare settings and an extensive literature review, this report describes Washington State Workers Compensation claims for healthcare workers, describes the site visits and offers results for hospitals, nursing homes and home care settings. A brief set of conclusions completes the report summary. Contact the SHARP program at 1-888-66-SHARP (toll-free) or 360-902-5667 or via email (SHARP@LNI.wa.gov) for the full report.

U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration. HealthCare Wide Hazards Module – Ergonomics, November 2004.
Examines common safety and health topics such as patient handling, awkward postures, potential hazards and solutions, and reporting of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

Health Care Workers - Safe Patient Handling (Washington State Law), March 8, 2006.
Washington House Bill 1672 was signed into law by Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire (D) on March 8, 2006. It requires hospitals to provide mechanical lift equipment for the safe lifting and movement of patients. Washington State Nurses Association promoted this legislation. It is one of the first states in the country to require equipment. The law is intended to lower musculoskeletal injury for nurses at the bedside. Visit the WSNA’s site for background information on this bill.

Search MEDLINE/PubMed for recent research articles on Back Injuries.
Current research citations and abstracts (where available) to articles of interest on back injuries. Includes many articles on work-related back injuries.

Search Terms
Hospitals
Ergonomics
Lifting patients
Patient handling
Patient transfer
Human engineering (MeSH)
Lifting/*adverse effects (MeSH)
Risk management (MeSH)
Back care AND nurses

Measuring Back Strain

Johnson, Peter. Measuring postural and vibrational exposures during agricultural work, [no date]
This brief article describes two types of instruments for ambulatory assessment of physical exposures and links to a PDF file of a PowerPoint presentation on the topic.

Johnson, Peter. The Virtual Corset - A New Logger for the Ambulatory Assessment of Physical Exposures. AgConnections, 1(4), Autumn 2003.
Briefly describes this new, ergonomic research tool and how to obtain it.

Catherine Trask, Mieke Koehoorn, Judy Village, Jim Morrison, Kay
Teschke, Jim Ploger, Peter W. Johnson. Evaluating full-shift low back EMG and posture measurement for epidemiological studies, [no date, preprint]
The “purpose of this study was to explore the comparability of two direct measurement methods (electromyography and inclinometry) for continuous low back exposures and the ability to distinguish exposures among workers in different industries.” (abstract)

Search Terms
Virtual corset
Low back pain

Pesticides and Agricultural Workers and Their Families

CROETWeb: Workplace Safety and Health Resources. 2004.
Collection of links from the scientists, educators, and information specialists working at the Oregon Health & Science University’s Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology. Links are organized by several broad areas including: Occupations & Industries, Chemical Hazards, Biological Hazards, Ergonomics Issues, Workplace Safety Issues, and Additional Resources. An internal search engine enables visitors to search the site for specific resources such as farm safety or pesticides.

Farm worker children under seven exposed to agricultural and home pesticides. Science Blog, November 2003.
Children of migrant and seasonal farm workers “are exposed to a wide range of agricultural and home pesticides. The research team, from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, the Southwest Research Institute, and NIEHS, found pesticide residues on floors, toys and hands of children who lived in farm worker households in four mountain counties in North Carolina and two in Virginia. The team looked only at households with children under 7.” (This is a report on work originally published in Environmental Health Perspectives).

National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC), [no date].
This site is intended for multiple audiences: the general public, physicians, manufacturers and others. Look for general information on pesticide safety, pets and pesticides, waste disposal and more. The Technical Info link offers data, health information databases, environmental and chemical properties database, toxicology and active ingredient factsheets, and hot topics. If you don’t know where to go to get regulatory information select the Regulatory link for state, national and laws plus regulations from Canada. Links to pesticide manufacturers and producers enable you to get additional information about a pesticide. While not specific to the topic of pesticide contamination in children, the site does have a lot of useful information on the topic of pesticides.

Pesticide Illness and Injury Surveillance, NIOSH, August 2006.
The Environmental Protection Agency “estimates that 10,000-20,000 physician-diagnosed pesticide poisonings occur each year among the approximately 3,380,000 U.S. agricultural workers.” This site lists many useful resources on this and related topics. Of interest is the Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risk (SENSOR) program; its mission is “to build and maintain occupational illness and injury surveillance capacity within state health departments.” Also of interest is the NIOSHTIC-2 Search, a “searchable bibliographic database of occupational safety and health publications, documents, grant reports, and journal articles supported in whole or in part by NIOSH.” How-to guides help states develop surveillance efforts. Other documents help promote comparability of data across states.

Quandt, Sara A. et al. Agricultural and Residential Pesticides in Wipe Samples from Farmworker Family Residences in North Carolina and Virginia, Environmental Health Perspectives, 112(3):March 2004.
Children of farmworkers “can be exposed to pesticides through multiple pathways, including agricultural take-home and drift as well as residential applications. Because farmworker families often live in poor-quality housing, the exposure from residential pesticide use may be substantial. We measured eight locally reported agricultural pesticides and 13 pesticides commonly found in U.S. houses in residences of 41 farmworker families with at least one child < 7 years of age in western North Carolina and Virginia. lthough the likelihood of agricultural pesticide exposure has been considered high for farmworker families, these results indicate that residential pesticide use and exposure in this population merit further study.” Link to complete paper.

Woodward, Kristen. Pathways to Pesticide Exposure. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Center News, March 4, 2004.
The researchers “found that workers who thinned orchards (in Yakima Valley) were more likely to have detectable levels of pesticides in their house and vehicle dust as compared to agricultural workers who did not perform orchard thinning. The study also found children of thinners are more likely to have detectable levels of pesticide metabolites in their urine than do children of non-thinners. These findings support the theory that agricultural workers may track home pesticides on their clothing and shoes.”

Search Terms
"orchard workers" pesticides homes families
agricultural workers pesticides children
organophosphates

Working Youth

Castillo DN, Davis L, Wegman DH. Young workers (1999). Occupational Medicine, 14(3):519-536.
the unique opportunities for interventions that “hold the potential for new and rewarding partnerships with, for example, pediatricians and adolescent health specialists, child labor regulators, child injury prevention professionals, maternal and child health professionals, educators, and community leaders.” (Abstract).

Chapter 5: Special Populations. Young Workers, In: Worker Health Chartbook, 2004.
Every year, “about 67 teenage workers die of work injuries [DOL 2000], and NIOSH estimates that 230,000 teenagers suffer from nonfatal occupational injuries.” Using text, charts and graphs, this chapter outlines the problems teenage workers face from fatal injuries to non-fatal injuries or illnesses. Look ofr data organized by age and sex, type of injury and industry.

CROETWeb: Workplace Safety and Health Resources. 2004.
Collection of links from the scientists, educators, and information specialists working at the Oregon Health & Science University’s Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology. Links are organized by several broad areas including: Occupations & Industries, Chemical Hazards, Biological Hazards, Ergonomics Issues, Workplace Safety Issues including Teen Workers, and Additional Resources. An internal search engine enables visitors to search the site for specific resources of interest.

Health and Safety Awareness for Working Teens. University of Washington, 2006.
This content rich site “strives to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses and their consequences by educating students about workplace health and safety and by promoting an attitude of occupational injury and illness prevention.” Look for information for teens, parents, employers and teachers. A DVD titled, “Teen Workers: Real Jobs, Real Risks” is also available. See below under the title for details.

Knight EB, Castillo DN, Layne LA (1995). A detailed analysis of work-related injury among youth treated in emergency departments. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 27:793-805.

Linker D, Miller ME, Freeman KS, Burbacher T (2005). Health and safety awareness for working teens: Developing a successful, statewide program for educating teen workers. Family and Community Health 28(3):225-238.
Adolescents “suffer higher rates of work-related injuries than do adults. A school-based education program can provide young workers with information and skills that will reduce their risk. A successful program in Washington State, Health and Safety Awareness for Working Teens, adapted existing curricula to meet state needs. The curricula featured interactive exercises designed to engage students with a variety of learning styles.” (Abstract)

Lost Youth (2003). Work Safe, BC. 2006.
Produced by the Communications Department of the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia, VHS and DVD, 17 minutes long. This video tells the stories of four teens who “speak of losing their youth after suffering serious workplace accidents. Through dramatic recreations of these accidents and one-on-one discusssions with the young people and their parents. Lost Youth tells four stories of lives forever altered.”

Miller, ME. and Kaufman, J. (1998) Occupational injuries among adolescents in Washington State, 1988-1991 American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 34:121-132.
Miller and Kaufman characterized work-related injuries and illnesses in minors using Washington State workers' compensation claims from 1988 through 1991. They found that 89% of all injuries occurred among the 16- and 17-year-olds and discovered that the injury rate for 16- and 17-year-olds was 19.4/100 full time equivalents compared with 10.6 of 100 full-time equivalents for adults. The authors recommended that “public health policy and injury prevention strategies for working adolescents should be developed and implemented.”

Miller ME (2004). Occupational Injuries, in Washington State Childhood Injury Report. Washington State Department of Health. Olympia, WA, September 2004. (main report)
The purpose of this report is “to provide an overview of the leading causes of injuries among Washington children, as well as best practices for injury prevention.” Available as a separate PDF document as a summary.

Miller ME (2004). Young adolescents in the work force. American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, 52(11):461-464.

Miller ME, Bush D (2004). Review of the Federal Child Labor Regulations: Updating the Hazardous and Prohibited Occupations, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 45(2): 218-221.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) “enlisted assistance from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to evaluate the current list of hazardous and prohibited occupations and to make recommendations for changes to the regulations. The NIOSH report is a valuable resource for anyone working to prevent occupational injuries-among adult and young workers alike.” (Abstract)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (2003). NIOSH Alert: Preventing Deaths, Injuries, and Illnesses of Young Workers. Cincinnati, OH: Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2003-128.
This Alert “summarizes available information about work-related injuries among young workers, identifies work that is especially hazardous, and offers recommendations for prevention.” (Abstract)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (2005). Working Together for Safety — A State Team Approach to Preventing Occupational Injuries in Young People. Cincinnati, OH: Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2005-134.
This document contains “two case studies that demonstrate the value of the State team approach, and also describes the experiences and activities of the State teams in the Northeast; the products developed by the teams, and key resources for other States interested in creating their own State teams.” (Abstract)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Work-RISQS - Work-related Injury Statistics Query System. Washington, D.C.: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, June 2004.
Work-RISQS provides “a Web-based public access query system for obtaining national estimates (number of cases) and rates (number of cases per hours worked) for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments. Users may interactively query based on demographic characteristics, nature of injury/illness, and incident circumstances for the years 1998 and 1999. Additional data-years will be added in future updates.”

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. NIOSHTIC-2 search results on Young Worker Safety and Health, 2006.

National Research Council, Committee on the Health and Safety Implications of Child Labor (1998). Protecting Youth at Work: Health, Safety, and Development of Working Children and Adolescents in the United States. Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
This report examines “the research on the positive and negative consequences of working for children and adolescents in the United States. The committee was charged with reviewing the available data on the extent to which children and adolescents work and on the number and types of work-related injuries and illnesses sustained by children and adolescents; reviewing the research on how working during school affects education, development, and behavior; and examining whether the laws and regulations that govern labor by children and adolescents in the United States are adequate to ensure the health and safety of young people at work.”

Rubenstein H, Sternbach MR, Pollack SH. (1999) Protecting the Health and Safety of Working Teenagers. American Family Physician, 60(2).
Teenage workers “face a variety of health and safety hazards. Occupational injury and illness are largely preventable, and family physicians can play a crucial role in this prevention effort by advising adolescents about common workplace dangers.” The patient information handout on working teenagers, written by the authors of this article, and provided on page 587 is worth examining for its helpful information for teens on workplace hazards and general working information.

Teen worker safety. Environmental Health News, Autumn 2005.
Describes the work being don collaboratively between the University of Washington and the Washington state Department of Labor & Industries to ensure a positive working experience for young workers.

Teen Workers Questions. OHSA, May 2006.
Answers common questions young workers, their parents, educators and employers might have about working and workplace safety. The long list of additional links at: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/teenworkers/links.html is quite useful.

Teen Workers: Real Jobs, Real Risks (Curriculum) (2005). Produced by the School to Work Program, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington. DVD or VHS, 13 minutes.
This video introduces teens to information they need to know about their rights and responsibilities on the job.

Teen Workers. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. 2006.
Working helps teens learn new skills, but can also put them at risk. L&I urges employers and parents to help avoid illness and injury for teenagers by learning rules and strategies for working more safely. Learn about prohibited duties and restrictions for teens in agricultural jobs. Learn how to hire minors, how long you can work them, minimum wage requirements and locate a variety of safety resources to keep them safe on the job. Helpful forms and publications can be downloaded.

U.S. General Accounting Office (2002). Child labor: Labor can strengthen its efforts to protect children who work. Publication No. GAO-02-880. Washington, DC: U.S. General Accounting Office.
This GAO report “updates information from the 1991 reports on child labor by providing information on (1) how the number and characteristics of working children in the United States have changed over the past decade, (2) whether the number and characteristics of work-related injuries to children have changed over this same time period, and (3) how well Labor enforces the child labor provisions of FLSA.”

U.S. Department of Labor (1967). Child Labor Laws. U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Labor Standards Administration, Bureau of Labor Standards, Bulletin No. 312.

U.S Department of Labor. Report on the Youth Labor Force. 2000.
In seven chapters this report offers information on child labor laws and enforcement, on employment of youth including trends, examines youth employment in agriculture, describes occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities among this age group and discusses the relationship of youth employment to future educational attainment and labor market experience. The report is available in PDF by chapter or as a complete report.

U.S. Department of Labor. Safety and Health Information Bulletin: Protecting Young Workers: Prohibition Against Young Workers Operating Forklifts. 2003.
The purpose of this Safety and Health Information Bulletin is: “To inform employers that youth employment regulations (29 CFR 570) promulgated under the Fair Labor Standards Act prohibit most employees under the age of 18 years from operating forklifts for non-agricultural operations; To remind employers that all forklift operators who are 18 years old or older must be trained and certified as competent to operate forklifts; and To identify additional resources for employers to ensure a safe and healthful workplace for all workers.”

Wegman D, Davis L (1999). Protecting youth at work. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 36:579-583.
The report “includes an extensive list of recommendations to safeguard the health and well-being of young workers: improved government regulations as well as their enforcement, better data collection and analysis to provide essential information on the distribution and consequences of youth employment, education of key actors such as employers, parents, teachers and the youth themselves, and research to fill critical knowledge gaps.”

Windau J, Meyer, S. (2005). Occupational injuries among young workers. Monthly Labor Review, October: 11-23.

Young Worker Safety and Health. NIOSH Safety and Health Topic, August 4, 2006.
Describes the problem of adolescent workers and provides key resources, reports and publications focused on young workers, press releases, related Web sites and an overview of NIOSH research on young workers. The NIOSHTIC-2 search on young worker safety and health returns numerous citations to the literature, with URLs to the documents.

Young Workers' Health and Safety. Labor Occupational Health Program – University of California at Berkeley
The goal of this site is “to help prevent California's young workers from being injured or killed on the job.” Contains information for teens, their parents, for teachers and counselors, for youth employment specialists and for employers. Many resources and links and a good FAQ. Information on California laws and regulations pertaining to teen workers.

Young Worker. WorkSafeBC Safety at Work. 2006.
The Young Worker site is intended for workers under 25 years-old. It is an online resource for workers, employers, unions, educators, parents, and youth community groups. Look for prevention resources, FAQs, references, including statistics and industry profiles, recent young worker accidents, and young worker organizations. Of particular interest is the Popular Picks section where the most heavily used documents are highlighted. A student public service announcement is promoted in the Spotlight section. Young workers will want to pay particular attention to the Recent Accidents and to the Fatalities sections for details on preventable accidents and deaths.

U.S. Department of Labor. Youth and Labor, 2002.
Many useful resources organized by topic including: Agricultural Employment
Child Labor Statistics, Hazardous Jobs, Resources for Educators, Resources for Parents of Young Workers, Resources for Young Workers, Safety & Health and State Labor Laws.

Search Terms
Teen workers
Adolescent workers
Young worker safety
Young workers
Occupational injuries

Workplace Wellness initiatives

Bringing Health to Work. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2006.
The goal of this Web site is “to make information, tools and resources easily available that will help employees, employers and practitioners participate in making their workplaces healthy and safe.” Information is made available to three audiences: employees, employers and practitioners. The Practitioners link offers resources that will help them “support and promote workplace health, including: tools, workplace health research, practitioner development resources, and program information (how to establish, maintain and evaluate).” Employees will find information on healthy living choices and quizzes and an answer to the question, “Why should I bring health to work?” Employers will learn why workplace health is important and information on how to make the business case for health. Of interest to employers are the tools and toolkits designed for them. Also of use are the workplace health case studies.

Cost Benefit and Analysis Report. University of Michigan Health Management Research Center. [published annually]. (order form)
This annual report “is an invaluable tool to justify, initiate or focus your wellness program to meet the corporate bottom line. It reviews published studies about the cost-effectiveness of health management programs from 1979 through 2007 and provides summaries of over 825 articles and studies. Look for an expanded disease management section that includes information on diabetes and other chronic conditions. Topics include: productivity, nutrition, wellness screenings, Body Mass Index, dental plans and related topics.

Eat 5 to 9 Servings of Fruits and Vegetables A Day for Better Health.
This has to be one of the world’s best sites for encouraging Americans to eat properly, to eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day to keep healthy. Great illustrations and content aimed at men, women, children, African Americans - and containing recipes, serving portions, scientific evidence for eating fresh fruit and vegetables, and many resources. Learn about the 5 A Day Program and explore the site for many interesting facts, quizzes and related content. This is a winning site.

Employer-Based Prevention of Chronic Disease in Washington State, 2005. University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center, October 2005.
This lengthy document (144 pages) will be of interest to employers, employee advocates and employees themselves. In addition to two executive summaries, look for a primer on Washington State Employment, a section on employment-based health promotion activities in this state, a section on employer health risk assessment activities, a section on Washington State employers’ thoughts on employment-based health promotion activities and an list of recommendations. Also contains a several-page glossary of terms.

Five a Day the Color Way. Produce for Better Health Foundation, August 28, 2006.
Although not sponsored by the government, this site does supplement the 5 A Day.gov site. Look for 5 A Day television public service announcements, consumer/industry/educators/press and child information, games, surveys, recipes, coloring pages and more.

Point-of-Decision Prompts that Encourage People to Use the Stairs are Recommended to Promote Physical Activity. Guide to Community Preventive Services. November 15, 2005.
The Guide to Community Preventive Services has long been a favorite of those who use evidence-based public health. This document examines published studies that “found that point-of-decision prompts that encourage people to use the stairs instead of elevators or escalators are effective in getting people to be more physically active.” Background, findings and related publications and resources are linked within the document.

King County Steps to Health. Public Health - Seattle & King County August 9, 2006.
King County Steps to Health is “a federally-funded program lead by community partners and Public Health - Seattle & King County, focusing on the areas of asthma, diabetes, obesity, nutrition, physical activity and tobacco.” With more than 75 members, the Steps to Health site offers a newsletter, and background information on its intervention area, proposed interventions, and on complementary initiatives in the community, currently funded projects, the leadership team and a link to contact staff. Sign up for the Steps to Health email updates for significant updates to the program.

Priorities for America’s Health: Capitalizing on Life-Saving, Cost-Effective Preventive Services. Partnership for Prevention. 2005.
In a landmark study, Partnership for Prevention “ranked the health impact and cost effectiveness of 25 preventive services recommended by two nationally recognized sources: the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The study identified: preventive services that are most valuable, highest-value preventive services that are most under-utilized, and preventive services that would provide the most gains in health were utilization rates increased.” Download and read the report in sections or the entire Executive Summary (PDF). The Rankings of Clinical Preventive Services is an important section with links to additional information. The last section on the Web page suggests how this ranking can help employers, public policy makers, consumers and later in September 2006, health care delivery organizations.

Priorities for America’s Health: Capitalizing on Life-Saving, Cost-Effective Preventive Services. Partnership for Prevention: Employers’ Guide. [no date]
In a landmark study, Partnership for Prevention “ranked the health impact and cost effectiveness of 25 preventive health services recommended by two nationally recognized sources: the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The resulting rankings — published in a leading medical journal and presented in this guide — offer key information employers can use to inform their medical plan design and other employee health programs. The report recommends that employers “consider adding coverage for the highest priority preventive services that are important to you.”

Steps to a Healthier Washington. Washington State Department of Health, February 6, 2006.
Steps to a Healthier WA is “a new, integrated approach to chronic disease prevention.” It “helps communities and organizations create policies that make the healthy choice the easy choice” and “creates healthy communities, schools, worksites, and healthcare settings.” Of special interest to health educators is the Evaluation & Assessment link which uses a participatory model and data from the Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and Washington State Healthy Youth Survey. Information on policy and organizational practice change in the home and in workplaces can be found in the Policy Focus link. View the calendar, contact the staff, and read content from the Weekly Update link. The latter link offers a synopsis of the original content and links where available. At this time you cannot sign up for this update.

Laura Larsson, MLS, is on the clinical faculty of the Health Services Department in the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine. She can be contacted at larsson@u.washington.edu.