Work Organization and Stress-Related Disorders
Activities: NIOSH Research Projects
Work Organization Risk Factors
Assessing the Safety Culture of Coal Mining
This project will assess the safety culture at coal mines in the U.S. Because coal mining is an extremely important, yet hazardous industry, it is important to continue to improve the safety of this work. In order to do so, six mines, including three underground and three surface mines, will be studied. This study will use a variety of methods including interviewing, surveying, observation, functional analysis, and behavioral anchored rating scales. Based on this safety culture assessment, recommendations will be made to improve the health and safety of coal miners.
Project contact: Katherine Klein
Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
(412) 386-4627
Project period: 2008–2011
Work Organization Influence of Fatigue in Truck Drivers
The purpose of this project is to examine the influence of organizational and industry factors, such as scheduling practices, economic pressure, competition and types of freight, on fatigue and safety in commercial motor vehicle operators in order to develop targeted interventions. A cross-sectional survey of currently employed commercial truck drivers will be conducted to obtain both independent and dependent variable data. Descriptive statistics and regression modeling will be used to characterize the relationship among factors, and results will be disseminated to the trucking industry and interested academic sectors. The results will include recommendations that can be used by firms to improve driver safety and health and decrease crash risk. Follow-on projects could be developed to improve implementation of recommendations from this project. This project will also feed into another NIOSH project titled Survey of Truck Driver Injury and Health by providing measures of fatigue and salient work organization concerns in trucking.
Project contact: Ted Hitchcock
Division of Applied Research and Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project period: 2003–2007
Minority Health and Work Organization: Research to Practice
Although the psychosocial work environment is known to affect physical and mental health, little is known about how this relationship contributes to racial/ethnic health disparities. This project will develop, assess, and use methods to detect workplace risk factors salient to minority health. It will also evaluate the success of current workplace occupational safety and health programs and practices in addressing minority health needs. Data collected will be used to generate information about the workplace risk factors to minority health and to generate guidelines for increasing the responsiveness of occupational safety and health programs and practices to the needs of minority workers. Guidelines and recommendations will be disseminated to (1) local and national community-based organizations and (2) work organizations that are racially and ethnically diverse. The impact of this information dissemination campaign will be evaluated.
Project contact: Rashaun Roberts
Division of Applied Research
and Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project period: 2004–2010
Improving the Health and Safety of Minority Workers
The project involves conducting a mixed-methods study in Chicago, IL to investigate the relationship between organization of work factors, stress, and stress-related problems and to identify variables that moderate these relationships among minority and White workers. In the latter part of the project, a web-based survey will be administered to employers and community-based organizations (CBOs) to assess awareness of workplace risk factors found by the study to be the most salient to minority health and to evaluate current practices and policies intended to reduce exposure to these and other risk factors. The web-based survey will also evaluate perceptions of what organizations feel they need to create practices, programs and policies that are more responsive to protecting the safety and health of diverse workforces. The results of the web-based survey and the mixed-methods study will inform the development and dissemination of recommendations and other helpful resources to employers and CBOs.
Project contact: Rashaun Roberts
Division of Applied Research and Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project
period: 2005–2010
Shift Work and Stroke: Use of Animal Models to Identify Critical Factors
Shift work (SW) may lead to increased risk for stroke. SW causes sleep deprivation and disturbed circadian rhythms accompanied by altered physiology and metabolism. The aspect(s) of SW contributing to increased stroke risk are unknown and difficult to study in humans, further the term SW covers many work schedules. Lab-based research will determine if sleep deprivation and/or circadian pattern disruption increases stroke induced brain injury in rats using a precise embolic stroke model and well-characterized biochemical and anatomical methods. Proteomic analysis of blood and brain tissue allows the identification of as yet unidentified biomarkers of stroke and shift work disturbance. Our data will (1) provide guidance as to the aspect of SW that should be examined in surveillance and epidemiological studies of stroke & (2) identify intervention targets.
Project contact: Diane Miller
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(304) 285-5732
Project
period: 2007–2010
Priority Populations and Health Disparities
This project supports the activities of the coordinator for the Occupational Health Disparities program portfolio area. The coordinator is responsible for organizing the NIOSH internal priority populations and health disparities steering committee. Activities of this committee include setting priorities on proposed intramural NORA proposals, as well as developing a Strategic Plan and supporting other initiatives to improve the NIOSH infrastructure to develop projects related to occupational health disparities.
Project contact: Sherry Baron
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4210
Project
period: 2005–2015
Priority Pops: Coordination Project
This project is the coordination project for a NORA research program on Preventing Barriers to Occupational Safety and Health in Priority Populations, including low income, minority, immigrant and/or older workers. This project will provide the coordination and integration of quantitative and qualitative data collected across four research projects. It will examine the role of multilevel factors in creating barriers to effective safety and health programs including 1) individual level factors such as language, literacy, previous knowledge and experience regarding occupational safety and health, 2) workplace level factors including provision of tools and training, management commitment to safety and health, supervisor and coworker social support; and 3) societal level factors such as discrimination, policies regarding undocumented immigrants and the overall economic prospects that allow workers to find alternative employment. The project will also analyze a variety of existing surveillance data sources to better describe the work and health of priority working populations. Finally, the project will improve coordination and dissemination of project outcomes as well as consultation with outside experts, promotion of improved training on research methodology for priority populations among internal NIOSH staff and dissemination of finding through national workshops and NIOSH and peer reviewed publications.
Project contact: Sherry Baron
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4428
Project
period: 2005-2010
Surveillance
Health Survey of Minority Farm Operators
The farm operator survey is part of an ongoing surveillance project conducted through an interagency agreement between NIOSH and the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), in collaboration with DSR. Earmarked agricultural funds were used to support this project. USDA/NASS conducted telephone and in-person interviews for farm operators in all 50 states. Data on health conditions were collected in 2000, and additional data on hazardous exposures were collected in 2006. National prevalence estimates of occupational health conditions among white, African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, Hispanic, and female farm operators are provided. These data will allow researchers, and agricultural constituents to understand the scope of identified occupational health problems, and will allow others to target educational information and interventions to the most urgent of these.
Project contact: Toni Alterman
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4210
Project period: 1999–2009
Surveillance Needs for Emergency and Epidemic Preparedness and Response
This project will provide a surveillance component as required to emergency-related programs included in the NIOSH Emergency Preparedness and Response program. Surveillance Branch personnel have been asked to support activities for development of a surveillance system for worker absenteeism; development of methodology to conduct emergency worker surveillance and development of statistical environmental sampling strategies in case of a bioterrorism event.
Project contact: William Sieber
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4231
Project period: 2007–2012
National Health Interview Survey Occupational Health Module
The overall objective of this proposed project is to provide data on the prevalence and correlates of work-related health conditions in the U.S.population to the NORA Sector Councils and other stakeholders to supplement the data currently available through traditional occupational health surveillance systems. We will accomplish this by collecting and analyzing data on psychosocial exposures, work organization characteristics and work-relatedness of common health conditions (e.g., hypertension, COPD, asthma, arthritis, low back pain, and other musculoskeletal problems) through an occupational health supplement to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
This project will benefit all workers. The expected outputs are: 1) the NHIS occupational health supplement survey instrument, 2) a publicly available dataset, and 3) communication products developed by NIOSH and our partners to disseminate the key findings.
Project contact: Sara Luckhaupt
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4123
Project period: 2008–2012
Industry Health Surveillance with Group Medical Claims
Because few occupational disease cases are currently reported, this NORA project will create a model for a new form of occupational health surveillance using group medical insurance claims. Working with two major health insurers, claims data is used to calculate disease rates by detailed industry for asthma, COPD, pneumoconiosis, dermatitis, bladder cancer, carpal tunnel syndrome, low back pain, depression, parkinsonism, hearing loss, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and others. The health insurers will promote prevention of occupational disease with employers, using information on disease rates, medical costs, and assessment and prevention recommendations developed by NIOSH. Published results will also be used to determine the need for epidemiological studies and help set prevention priorities. Project databases are nearing completion, and industry disease rates have been calculated with one insurer’s data.
Project Contact: Tim Bushnell
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 458-7108
Project Period: 2005–2010
Survey of Truck Driver Injury and Health
This collaboration between four NIOSH divisions and numerous partners is developing and conducting a national survey that will provide for the occupational safety and health surveillance needs of truck drivers. Truck drivers will be asked to complete a questionnaire that will collect basic information on demographics, employment history, health and wellness, lifestyle, occupational injuries, work organization, fatigue, and sleep disorders. Dissemination of project findings by NIOSH and project partners will potentially have a large impact on the trucking industry, as the 2004 fatality rate for U.S. heavy and tractor-trailer drivers was 48.2 per 100,000 workers, compared with 4.4 per 100,000 for all workers. In 2004, the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses estimated 63,570 non-fatal injuries among heavy and tractor trailer drivers – the second highest number among all occupations.
Project Contact: Karl Sieber
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4428
Project Period: 2006-2009
Changing Nature of Work
The purposes of the project are to characterize the nature and extent of changes in work organization in the United States and their safety and health consequences, establish baseline data for tracking trends in work organization factors, and identify targets for intervention to improve worker safety and health. Outcomes from this project will include national estimates of the nature and scope of changes in the modern workplace and how these changes influence worker safety and health. These data will represent the best estimates of how work is changing and the effects of such changes on worker safety and health since 1977. It will also serve as a benchmark for researchers over the next decade.
Project Contact: Akinori Nakata
Division of Applied Research and Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project Period: 1999–2009
National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) Health Surveillance
This project involves an ongoing program of occupational health surveillance for migrant farmworkers in the United States, a vulnerable, poverty-stricken, minority group working in a high risk industry. The Department of Labor has conducted the NAWS annually since 1988, and in 1999 NIOSH funded an occupational health supplement. Questions included information about musculoskeletal disorders, chronic conditions, pesticide use, and access to care. A reduced set of health questions has been asked in subsequent years. Analysis and dissemination of collected data are underway. A new supplement concerning psychosocial factors, work organization, work stress, work structure, job insecurity, and mental health, was developed, underwent cognitive testing, focus groups, and piloting. This supplement Pending OMB and HSRB approval, data will be collected and submitted to NIOSH for analysis and dissemination in 2008-2010.
Project Contact: Toni Alterman
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4210
Project Period: 1999–2010
Hazard Surveillance Survey of Workers in the HCSA Sector
This project involves two separate but related hazard surveillance surveys: a survey of healthcare workers and a survey of healthcare management. The objective of the healthcare worker survey is to describe the prevalence and distribution of important health and safety hazards and perceptions, work practices, and use of exposure controls by occupation and type and size of establishment. The objective of the management survey is to describe institution-based health and safety management policies, programs, and practices by type and size of establishment. The surveys address broad health and safety issues such as work organization (e.g., work hours) worker survey, violence, physical demands (e.g., patient lifting), needlestick injuries, and use of personal protective equipment (PPE/C). Specific emphasis will be placed on charactering exposure determinants for antineoplastic agents, selected aerosolized medications, chemical sterilants, high level disinfectants, anesthetic gases, surgical smoke, and cleaning and sanitization agents. Information collected from the surveys will be useful in identifying research gaps and intervention priorities.
Project Contact: James Boiano
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4428
Project Period: 2007-2010
Methods
Analysis of Cardiovascular Effects of Stress in Police
The objectives of this research are to optimize the analyses of cortisol in saliva as a physiologic stress indicator and to determine whether this indicator is associated with adverse metabolic and cardiovascular consequences (e.g., diabetes and myocardial infarction). A cohort of police officers who experience high-stress levels as a characteristic of their occupation are participating in the study. Results from this study may be generalized to other workplaces and lead to improved intervention efforts.
Project contact: Michael Andrew
Health Effects Laboratory Division
(304) 285-6121
Project period:
2004–2009
Investigation of Chronic Stress as a Susceptibility Factor
Lab-based and epidemiological research will establish the relationship between chronic stress, molecular/cellular markers of stress, and increased susceptibility to neurotoxic chemicals. Using conventional and transgenic models to determine the molecular and biochemical changes induced by chronic stress will identify biomarkers of stress and determine the role of gender and genetics in stress responses. Human worker populations will be used to establish the utility of salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, and currently unidentified biomarkers of chronic stress. The development of chronic stress biomarkers will serve to identify workers at risk for the health problems associated with stress and to demonstrate the effectiveness of prevention and intervention. Biomarkers will help to determine the impact of stress on workplace problems, in which the nervous system is implicated in either etiology or susceptibility.
Project contact: Diane Miller
Health Effects Laboratory Division
(304) 285-6121
Project period: 2004–2009
Outcomes
Work Organization Predictors of Depression in Women
The goals of this study are to examine the relationship between nontraditional job stressors (e.g., work-family conflicts, harassment, discrimination), traditional job stressors (e.g., demands, control), and levels of depression in working women. Additionally, the moderating effects of specific workplace policies, practices, and procedures, which may attenuate the effects of work organization stressors on depression, will also be investigated. It is anticipated that findings from this study will enhance our knowledge of workplace antecedents of depression among working women and provide a better understanding of which, if any, workplace policies, programs, and procedures might reduce depression prevalence among working women.
Project contact: Naomi Swanson
Division of Applied Research and Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project period: 2001–2009
Estimating the Economic Burden of Job Stress
The study plan is to survey, compare, and contrast the available literature on economic burden of work stress. The objective is to gather evidences of existing estimates; to point out the gaps in those estimates (e.g., failures to account for the stress related diseases and presenteeism); to propose a comprehensive methodology that will identify the true economic burden of work stress and stress related disorders from the organizational perspective; and to estimate the societal burden of work stress. Costs of illness methodology is used and stress prevalence data is obtained from NIOSH Quality of Work Life (QWL) survey and other sources while medical expense data is obtained from varied sources like MarketScan, Integrated business Institute’s (IBI) compensation claims, BLS and NCCI. The results will include societal cost estimates and organizational cost components that can be used by individual firms to measure their respective stress related financial burden.
Project contact: Tapas Ray
Division of Applied Research and Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project period: 2006-2009
Prevention
Methods to Reduce the Risk of Knee Injury in Low-Seam Mining
The purpose of this project is to reduce the likelihood of knee injuries in low seam coal miners through a systematic approach that includes the development of guidelines for improved personal protective equipment and interventions. This project is focused on underground mining, musculoskeletal disorders, protective equipment, and interventions. Guidelines for the development of knee pads and interventions that are specific to underground mining will be generated. Additionally, the tools (e.g. finite element models and musculoskeletal models) developed within the framework of this project have a multitude of future applications.
Project contact: Susan Moore
Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
(412) 386-6613
Project period: 2006–2009
Mine Emergency Response, Escape and Rescue
A systematic miner escape and safe rescue strategy is necessary when mine accidents such as fires or explosions occur and lives are in danger. Miners have not always escaped US coal mine accidents and rescuers have not always reached trapped or barricaded miners in time to save their lives. Over the years, this research project was intended to enhance the safety and effectiveness of responders to mine emergencies by developing realistic training simulations and evaluating improved technology that can be used during evacuation, exploration, rescue, recovery, and firefighting operations. Overall, the intended outcomes of this project include: a measurable improvement in the readiness of well trained and equipped miners, mine rescue teams, and fire brigades to respond to mine fires or other emergencies; improved technology to escape from underground smoke-filled passageways; publications and technology transfer briefings, seminars, and workshops. The Guideline for Escape and Rescue will help the coal industry develop resilient miners who are capable of timely self-rescue under adverse conditions and hazardous atmospheres, first responders and mine rescue teams who are capable of rapid, state-of-the-art safe rescue and management organizations that effectively support these goals.
Project contact: Danrick Alexander
Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
(412) 386-4468
Project period:
1999-2009
Tailoring OSH Training for Hispanic Immigrant Workers
This study will improve the effectiveness of occupational safety and health (OSH) training for recent (<2 years in U.S) Hispanic immigrant workers (HIW) by addressing unique aspects of the HIW culture. This study has the following aims: 1) To better understand the differences in prior OSH knowledge, risk perception, risk acceptance and adjustment strategies between HIW, nonimmigrant Hispanic workers and non-Hispanic workers by conducting a series of focus groups and administering a questionnaire with workers from a range of industries. 2) To develop culturally tailored OSH training modules for HIW in construction and home healthcare. 3) To evaluate the effectiveness of culturally tailored OSH training modules as compared to untailored OSH training modules for HIW in construction and home healthcare.
Project contact: Don Eggerth
Education and Information Division
(513) 533-8505
Project period:
2005-2010
Dissemination of Training Interventions for Home Health Care Workers
This project is designed to identify and disseminate best practices in training interventions for home care workers using demonstrated intervention models. The project will focus on identifying a broad range of training materials, fostering the development of partnerships for implementing training and arranging with stakeholders to build capacity and translate successful models into policy. The materials will be identified and categorized using standard course planning variables such as size and type of employer (training resources for large and small employers and self employed); nature of work setting (workers in fixed site or multiple locations); language; and types of hazards and health effects. Additionally the materials will be annotated to provide information on best practice use. The primary aim is to increase the number of workers who receive effective training about health and safety in home care.
Project contact: Sherry Baron
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4210
Project period:
2007–2010
Translating NIOSH Rest Break Research into Practice
This project will help to bridge the gap between NIOSH research findings and organizational practices. The project’s primary objective is to translate existing results from NIOSH studies on the importance of rest breaks for computer-based workers into a marketable format that is usable and appealing to industry. Through collaborations with internal consultants, stakeholders, and internal and external communications specialists, informational materials on the effects of different rest break schedules and a marketing campaign for their dissemination will both be developed. Data will be collected to track how many organizations and individuals receive the materials and marketing campaign; perceptions of their relevance and utility; the rates at which organizations elect to implement supplementary rest break schedules based on the materials and campaign; and the effectiveness of the new schedules at reducing musculoskeletal and visual symptoms.
Project contact: Jessica Streit
Division of Applied Research and Technology
(513) 533-8107
Project period:
2008-2012
Work Organization and Workplace Violence
The purpose of this project is to provide data on workplace violence prevention programs and policies in various industries through a nationwide organizations survey. An expert panel at NIOSH developed a workplace violence module that was added to the National Organizations Survey (NOS) through an existing Interagency Agreement with the NSF. NIOSH is also collaborating on pilot work to develop a workplace violence intervention and evaluation process that can then be used by other organizations as an aid in developing their own workplace violence prevention strategies.
Project contact: Paula Grubb
Division of Applied Research and Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project period:
2002–2010
Hazard Recognition: Preventing Falls and Close Calls
There are two primary objectives of this study. The first objective is to evaluate two hazard recognition training interventions: (1) Hazard Recognition Training for Fall Prevention in Construction and (2) Construction Site Ladder (CSL) Exercise; both are to be conducted in regular training sessions at the Ironworker Training Program, District Council of Northern New Jersey. The second objective is to produce a taxonomy of close calls and risks for falls. Experienced ironworkers that have completed the two training interventions will be invited to participate in focus groups to discuss falls and close calls. The training evaluations will provide the necessary data for other trainers to consider adopting the training tools. The long term goal of the study is a more proactive safety climate in construction that identifies incipient hazards before the hazards are created.
Project contact: Ted Scharf / Kellie Pierson
Division of Applied Research and Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project period:
2007-2009
Understanding and Promoting OSH in Low Income Older Workers
The proposed study involves two complementary research components. In the first component, a prospective study will be conducted of an employment program for low income older workers called the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). SCSEP is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and provides training and employment opportunities for older workers. In the second component, archival data will be analyzed from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative longitudinal survey of approximately 10,000 older adults that began in 1992 and is currently on-going. Analysis of HRS data will focus on identifying a group of low income older workers that are roughly comparable to SCSEP participants, and then tracking them over a ten-year period. Together, the analysis of HRS and SCSEP data will provide a better understanding of the employment experiences of low income older workers, and identify practices/policies that promote worker health and well-being.
Project contact: James Grosch
Division of Applied Research and Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project period:
2006-2010
Training to reduce broad risks of work-related sleep loss
The purpose of this public health practice project is to produce training products that translate scientific information about the hazards that have been associated with shift work and long work hours, and, most importantly, relay strategies to reduce the risks. Tailored work schedule training products will be developed for workers, managers, and job trainees/students in nursing, trucking, retail, and mining/blue collar work. Focus groups of targeted worker groups will provide input to guide development of the products and feedback to refine the completed products. A small scale evaluation will assess nursing students for knowledge, attitudes, and intended behaviors before training and several weeks after the training. Final training videos, audio tapes, and online training products will be made available free of charge through NIOSH/CDC publications and the website. Future studies will be proposed to conduct more extensive evaluations of the impacts of the training.
Project contact: Claire Caruso
Division of Applied Research and Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project period:
2007-2009
Priority Populations: Homecare Workers
This is a five-year community based participatory research project that will develop and evaluate a model intervention program for one large population of predominately female low income, minority and immigrant home care workers (HCWS) in Alameda County, California. The focus of the intervention will be the development of an interactive checklist and accompanying educational materials aimed at improving awareness and knowledge about safety and health risk factors, and improving the ability of HCWs, their consumers, social workers and others to identify simple, available interventions. This intervention will address the most common hazards for HCWs including frequent lifting and bending resulting in musculoskeletal problems and work stress resulting from high work demands and insufficient resources.
The target population is multi-lingual (English, Spanish and Chinese) and are of low literacy. The project will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to gather information about HCW safety and health needs and available materials and resources to address those needs. NIOSH investigators will construct a prototype of a checklist using information from focus groups, key informant interviews and observational site visits. Community outreach workers using peer education techniques will field test the efficacy of the intervention materials with other HCWs and consumers. The completed checklist will be evaluated using a randomized experimental design to examine the HCWs’ and their consumers’ improvement in safety and health awareness and ability to identify and change hazards in the work environment utilizing the checklist materials.
Project contact: Sherry Baron
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4428
Project period:
2005-2010
Employer Guidance: Addressing High Rates of Specific Diseases
NIOSH has been working with health insurers to calculate rates of several specific diseases in over 200 industries. Insurers plan to offer statistical reports to interested employers and have a need for accompanying informational materials that will enable employers to grasp quickly the potential role of workplace risk factors in contributing to elevated rates of disease and health care costs, and to access the best resources for exposure assessment and prevention. The guidance will be in the form of brochures or similar, concise and engaging documents, also made available on the web. Each one will focus on a single health condition or set of closely related conditions. Priority conditions include health outcomes associated with workplace stress, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease and depression, as well as asthma, and low back pain.
Project contact: Tim Bushnell
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(513) 841-4428
Project period:
2007–2009
