U.S. DOL Certifies Approximately 8,600 Workers in 17 States as Eligible to Apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance

Workers facing layoffs or reduced hours due to direct foreign competition may receive Trade Adjustment Assistance to help prepare them for new jobs in emerging sectors. Includes chart of effected workplaces

US DOL Awards $6.4 M in Grants to Support International Worker Rights

Announces the allocation of grant funds from the US DOL to implement projects promoting adherence to international core labor standards, support the rights of workers, and study topics related to international labor standards in Haiti, Lesotho, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

US DOL Announces Grant Exceeding $553,000 to Assist Workers affected By Layoffs From Textile Manufacturing Industry in Maine

One hundred workers laid off from West Point in Biddeford, ME will receive assistance in retraining and re-employment services in effort to help them fill new high-growth, high-demand sectors

US DOL 2008 finding on the Worst Forms of Child Labor

This report contains profiles of 122 independent countries and a summary report on 19 non-independent countries and territories. Information in the profiles covers the period March 2008-February 2009. Each country profile contains a table and three text sections that cover 1) the incidence and nature of child labor. 2) child labor laws and enforcement, and 3) current government policies and programs to eliminate the worst forms of child labo

Commentary on Salvatore et al. (2017): Dyadic research can clarify non‐shared environmental influences on alcohol use disorder and divorce

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136376/1/add13768_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136376/2/add13768.pd

Occupational Skin Diseases in Korea

Skin disease is the most common occupational disease, but the reported number is small in Korea due to a difficulty of detection and diagnosis in time. We described various official statistics and data from occupational skin disease surveillance system, epidemiological surveys and cases published in scientific journals. Until 1981, 2,222 cases of occupational skin disease were reported by Korean employee's regular medical check-up, accounting for 4.9% of the total occupational diseases. There was no subsequent official statistics to figure out occupational skin diseases till 1998. From 1999, the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) published the number of occupational skin diseases through the statistics of Cause Investigation for Industrial Accidents. A total of 301 cases were reported from 1999 to 2007. Recent one study showed the figures of compensated occupational skin diseases. Many of them belonged to daily-paid workers in the public service, especially forestry workers. Also, it described the interesting cases such as vitiligo and trichloroethylene-induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Skin diseases are still important though the number of cases has decreased, and therefore it is recommended to grasp the status of occupational skin diseases through continuous surveillance system and to make policy protecting high-risk group

Religion and HIV in Tanzania: Influence of Religious Beliefs on HIV stigma, Disclosure, and Treatment Attitudes.

Religion shapes everyday beliefs and activities, but few studies have examined its associations with attitudes about HIV. This exploratory study in Tanzania probed associations between religious beliefs and HIV stigma, disclosure, and attitudes toward antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. A self-administered survey was distributed to a convenience sample of parishioners (n = 438) attending Catholic, Lutheran, and Pentecostal churches in both urban and rural areas. The survey included questions about religious beliefs, opinions about HIV, and knowledge and attitudes about ARVs. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess how religion was associated with perceptions about HIV, HIV treatment, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Results indicate that shame-related HIV stigma is strongly associated with religious beliefs such as the belief that HIV is a punishment from God (p < 0.01) or that people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) have not followed the Word of God (p < 0.001). Most participants (84.2%) said that they would disclose their HIV status to their pastor or congregation if they became infected. Although the majority of respondents (80.8%) believed that prayer could cure HIV, almost all (93.7%) said that they would begin ARV treatment if they became HIV-infected. The multivariate analysis found that respondents' hypothetical willingness to begin ARV treatme was not significantly associated with the belief that prayer could cure HIV or with other religious factors. Refusal of ARV treatment was instead correlated with lack of secondary schooling and lack of knowledge about ARVs. The decision to start ARVs hinged primarily on education-level and knowledge about ARVs rather than on religious factors. Research results highlight the influence of religious beliefs on HIV-related stigma and willingness to disclose, and should help to inform HIV-education outreach for religious groups

Time Use and Food Pattern Influences on Obesity

The rise of obesity in the United States over the past 25 years has resulted in an increase in the number of research studies published related to the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to the problem. Most would agree that obesity is a multi-dimensional problem that requires a range of solutions related to individual diet and activity, food and built environment, and public policy. Examination of complex relationships between food choice, time use patterns, sociodemographic characteristics and obesity has been limited by data availability and disciplinary focus. Using the theory of the production of health capital, this paper links empirical data from the Consumer Expenditure, Current Population, and American Time Use Surveys to provide estimates of the impacts of food expenditure and time use patterns on obesity in single female headed households of 31–50 years of age

Hearing effects from intermittent and continuous noise exposure in a study of Korean factory workers and firefighters

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>South Korea and surrounding countries in East Asia are believed to have the highest proportion in the world of high frequency hearing loss due to occupational noise exposure, yet there has been limited information published in international journals, and limited information for control of noise in local workplaces beyond strategies from western countries. We exploit medical surveillance information from two worker groups to enhance local knowledge about noise-induced hearing loss and explore the possible importance of shift work to risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Four-years of hearing data were evaluated for 81 male farm machine factory workers and 371 male firefighters who had successfully completed a health examination and questionnaires for the duration of the study period. The averages of hearing thresholds at 2, 3, and 4 kHz were used as the primary end-point for comparison. Repeat measure analysis adjusted for age, exposure duration and smoking status was used to measure the difference in hearing threshold between the two groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Noise levels were measured in the factory at a mean of 82 dBA, with a range of 66-97. No concurrent measurements were taken for the firefighters, but historic comparison values showed a wider range but a similar mean of 76-79 dBA. Although losses during follow-up were negligible, the factory workers had significantly (<it>P </it>< 0.0001) more hearing loss at the baseline of the study than the firefighters in both ears at 2, 3, and 4 kHz, adjusted for age, duration of employment and smoking status. Among those with 10 years of employment, mean losses at these frequencies among the factory workers fell into the impairment range (> 25 dB loss). Firefighters also showed increased losses associated with longer exposure duration, but these were significantly less marked. Losses at lower frequencies (< or = 1 kHz) were negligible in both groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Korean work environments with continuous noise exposure in the measured range should consider implementation of a hearing conservation program. Further evaluation of hearing loss in workers exposed to irregular or intermittent high noise levels, such as firefighters, is also warranted.</p