OccHealthSci May 2024 Newsletter

The latest news, updates, and events from OccHealthSci

Professional Development

Total Worker Health® Courses

Bringing the Total Worker Health® Approach to Farm Workers

June 20, 2024 

In-person at the South Waterfront Knight Cancer Research Building, Room 1011

Portland, Oregon 

The Bringing Total Worker Health® (TWH) Approach to Farm Workers workshop, led by OccHealthSci’s Drs. Katia Costa-Black and Anjali Rameshbabu, is a highly interactive and introductory course offered to attendees of the 2024 International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health Conference in Portland, Oregon. This workshop will provide an overview of the core principles and value of the TWH approach to advance farmworker health, safety and well-being. Expert presenters will highlight how this approach can apply to the agriculture environment, what are the benefits for workers and farm businesses, as well as what are some of the evidence-based resources that attendees can use to support a more proactive and comprehensive perspective for health, safety and well-being. Learn more and register to attend.

University of Washington & OSHA Training Institute for Region 10

Principles of Ergonomics

June 10 – 13, 2024 Virtual Course 

The Principles of Ergonomics training course is an elective course for completion of the Total Worker Health Certificate program. This comprehensive and entry-level training is led by Dr. Katia Costa-Black and covers ergonomic practices and related OSHA regulations, procedures and available programs in various industries. The course content includes topics such as work physiology, anthropometry, biomechanics, workplace design principles related to manual material handling, patient handling, and repetitive and office tasks. The course's unique feature is its focus on the prevention and management of musculoskeletal disorders with a full consideration of management practices, safety programs and a wide range of occupational ergonomic hazards (e.g. force, repetition, posture, vibration, temperature, noise, lighting, psychosocial, etc.). Industrial and healthcare case studies, adoption of the latest technology, and practice guidelines are discussed and shared with participants. By the end of the course, participants can identify a range of ergonomic hazards and utilize valid assessment methods, and they will also learn to address productivity and efficiency issues.

This course is exclusively available for residents of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. Learn more and register to attend.

OccHealthSci Training Programs

Workplace Mental Health Support Training for Managers

The Workplace Mental Health Support Training for Managers is a unique training course, designed specifically for leaders and has proven to deliver measurable results that have a lasting impact on employee mental health within organizations like yours.

From now until Dec. 31, 2024, OccHealthSci is offering the training at reduced rates:

• Public/Non-Profit Organizations residing in Oregon: Free - usually $100/seat 

• Public/Non-Profit Organizations outside of Oregon: $50/seat - usually $100 

• Commercial Organizations: $75/seat - usually $150 

Additionally, the price for larger organizations with their own learning management system is now $25,000. This option allows you access to the complete training for unlimited use for up to 5 years.

Email supportiveworkplaces@ohsu.edu for more information.

OccHealthSci Sponsored Programs

Oregon Healthy Workforce Center

The Oregon Healthy Workforce Center is dedicated to improving worker safety, health, and well-being. Our commitment to this work was highlighted last month with the appointment of Center Director Leslie Hammer to the Board of Scientific Affairs at the American Psychological Association, the primary advisory board for the APA’s Science Directorate. Center faculty member, Associate Professor Emily Huang received an appointment to the NIOSH Board of Scientific Counselors, a federal advisory committee providing advice to the NIOSH director. Join OccHealthSci in coagulating Drs. Hammer and Huang for their appointments. 

Learn more about the Oregon Health Workforce Center, including interventions to improve worker health and other resources, current and past research projects, and other resources.

Occupational Public Health Program

The National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction was May 6 through May 10. To help raise awareness, the Oregon Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (OR-FACE) Program wrote a blog about the campaign. OR-FACE also published a hazard alert focused on falls in the construction industry. The hazard alert tells real stories about some of the workplace fatalities that have occurred in Oregon workplaces since 2018 and provides prevention recommendations (safety tips). 

Learn more about OR-FACE (Oregon Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program), including our fatality investigations and toolbox talks, by visiting our website. To download and receive new publications including investigative reports and other OR-FACE publications, please join our mailing list.

OccHealthSci Research

Stay up to date on the latest basic, clinical, and applied research at OccHealthSci, and learn about our partnerships and community engagement at the Oregon and the Workplace blog.

Chronic nightshift work is associated with attenuated overnight blood pressure dripping 

This study, co-authored by Institute faculty members Steven Shea, Ryan Olson, Andrew McHill and colleagues, investigated the relationships between circadian phase, sleep variability, and overnight blood pressure dipping among day and chronic nightshift workers. The findings revealed that chronic nightshift work is associated with attenuations in overnight blood pressure dipping, potentially due to disruptions in circadian rhythms and increased sleep timing variability. These factors may contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular health issues among night shift workers. Read the full article.

A specific reaction caused by fungal toxins found on some crops can lead to harmful mutations in DNA 

This study, co-authored by Institute faculty member R. Stephen Lloyd, researcher Irina G. Minko and colleagues, discusses the aflatoxin B1-induced imidazole ring-opened guanine adduct, emphasizing its high mutagenic potential that is minimally influenced by sequence context. The study found that this adduct has significant mutagenic properties, which could contribute to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a type of liver cancer. Aflatoxin B1 is a known risk factor for HCC, primarily through dietary exposure to contaminated food products. The research sheds light on the impact of DNA lesions caused by environmental carcinogens like aflatoxin B1 on mutational spectra, emphasizing the need for further studies to elucidate the molecular basis of aflatoxin-induced mutagenesis and its implications for human health. Read the full article.

Events

• June 3-4: Blue Mountain Occupational Safety & Health Conference 

• June 5: OccHealthSci Seminar: Building Capacity in Total Worker Health®

• June 10-13: Principles of Ergonomics – Part of the University of Washington Total Worker Health Certificate Program 

• June 17-20: International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health 2024 Conference (OccHealthSci workshop available at conference, see Total Worker Health courses section above)