Archive for NIOSH
Providing Clarity Regarding the Regulation of Respirators Used in Health Care Settings
A Discussion Paper, Streamlining Regulatory Oversight of Respirators Used in Health Care Settings will Improve Worker Protection, was recently published in the National Academy of Medicine’s NAM Perspectives journal by respiratory experts outside of the federal government. This paper highlights continued confusion amongst interested parties including health care organizations and manufacturers seeking approval regarding federal regulations and guidance on the use of air-purifying respirators Read more [...]
Impact Wellbeing™ Guide Workshop Series Brings Together Hospital Leaders to Improve Healthcare Worker Wellbeing
NIOSH’s Impact Wellbeing™ campaign gives hospital leaders evidence-informed solutions to reduce healthcare worker burnout and sustain wellbeing. The goal is to build a system where healthcare workers thrive. It helps hospital leaders go beyond individual resilience efforts and encouraging self-care to instead focus on systems-level improvements. Many hospitals face challenges getting started or have concerns about the resources needed for wellbeing work. NIOSH developed the Read more [...]
Partnering to Reduce the Risk to Firefighters Responding to High-risk Buildings
Building strategic partnerships can create solutions to large community safety issues High-risk buildings can be abandoned or condemned structures. These buildings pose hazards to firefighters and communities. This is because many are structurally unsound and not safe for any person to enter. These buildings are commonly a key contributing factor to firefighter line of duty deaths, noted in NIOSH firefighter fatality investigations. National Fire Protection Association statistics show Read more [...]
National Safety Month 2024
Each June, we bring a little extra attention to safety issues by highlighting National Safety Month®. For each week of the month, the National Safety Council (NSC) identifies a theme to focus on. This blog highlights select research and prevention efforts from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and NSC in this year’s focus areas of safety engagement; roadway safety; risk reduction; and slips, trips and falls. Please download and share the free Read more [...]
NIOSH Risk Assessment of Engineered Nanomaterials
Nanotechnology as we know it today did not exist at the time of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Yet, its provisions to “assure safe and healthful working conditions” apply to nanotechnology workplaces and other workplaces where engineered nanomaterials are produced or used. Engineered nanomaterials are used in a variety of products and applications, including in energy, electronics, transportation, environmental remediation, and medicine. The small size of engineered nanomaterials Read more [...]
Proposed Framework for Developing and Evaluating Total Worker Health® Education and Training Programs
A constantly changing work environment and a shortage of occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals may bring new challenges to the field. Some OSH professionals will be asked to perform roles they are not formally trained in nor have the expertise needed to fully address evolving hazards and implement necessary interventions.[1] [2] [3] To be successful these professionals will need to have an expanded set of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that shifts expertise from a specific Read more [...]
Prioritizing our Healthcare Workers: The Importance of Addressing the Intersection of Workplace Violence and Mental Health and Wellbeing
Workplace violence impacts the mental health and wellbeing of the healthcare workforce. The negative outcomes not only affect the healthcare worker but can trickle down to patient safety and satisfaction. It is important that healthcare institutions implement workplace violence prevention programs that benefit the entire healthcare workforce. This blog post highlights current efforts across government and industry to address this critical issue. The Healthcare Workforce There are roughly 15 Read more [...]
The Role of Work Arrangements in the Future of Work
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Future of Work Initiative hosted a webinar to address the role of work arrangements in the future of work. Among the changes anticipated in the Future of Work is an increasing prevalence of nonstandard work arrangements, such as contingent, platform-based, seasonal, on-call, or other “nonstandard” work. There are no commonly accepted definitions for traditional or for nonstandard (also referred to as alternative) Read more [...]
Tackling Mental Health Challenges in the Public Safety Sector: Implementing and Evaluating Mental Health Programs
Public safety sector workers including firefighters (structural and wildland), law enforcement officers, emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians, and corrections personnel are at a high risk of occupational exposure to traumatic events and stress. As such, mental health programs are critical for addressing the unique challenges these workers face. Effective programs must be multi-faceted, address organizational factors, and focus on building resilience, stress management, post-traumatic Read more [...]
The Nanotechnology Research Center Carbon Nanotube Registry
To celebrate the Nanotechnology Research Center’s (NTRC) 20th anniversary, we are highlighting the ongoing efforts of the Center’s Carbon Nanotube Registry. This is a long-term National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research effort dedicated to understanding workplace health risks associated with carbon nanotubes. What is the Carbon Nanotube Registry? A registry collects records that can be used to investigate diseases within a population. The Carbon Nanotube Read more [...]
NIOSH Science Blog: The Problem of Falls from Elevation in Construction and Prevention Resources
The Current Situation with Falls In 2022 falls from elevation represented approximately 81% of all fatal and 20% of all nonfatal slips, trips, and falls for all industry workers (BLS 2023a, BLS 2023b). Many of these falls occurred in the construction industry, and significantly impact construction employers, workers, and their families. In fact, construction workers made up nearly half (49%) of all fatal occupational slips, trips, and falls (BLS 2023). Since 2013, construction workers have Read more [...]
A Deeper Look into Protecting Wildland Firefighter Safety and Health
Wildland firefighters perform a hazardous job in dangerous conditions. Their daily tasks pose risk of burns and other heat-related injuries or illnesses; slips, trips, falls, strains, and sprains; and becoming trapped or injured by equipment or debris.1 In addition, exposures related to fighting fires—especially when it comes to smoke inhalation—have been classified as “carcinogenic,” or capable of causing cancer in humans.2 Wildland firefighters generally do not wear Read more [...]
Workers’ Memorial Day 2024: Statement by NIOSH Director
Each year, on April 28, we pause to recognize Workers’ Memorial Day and honor those whose death or suffering resulted from exposure to hazards at work. Words are not enough when it comes to change. Research has shown that the health and safety of workers relies on active and intentional involvement in ways that take into consideration workplace hazards, work arrangements and environment, employer-worker relationships, the workers themselves, and their families. Perhaps one of the hardest things Read more [...]
2024 NIOSH Science and Service Awards
Exemplary science is the foundation for all National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research and prevention activities. Each year, NIOSH recognizes outstanding science and service from our employees. This year’s Science and Service Awards took place on April 25, 2024. The awards booklet contains the finalists, awardees, and honorable mentions as well as information on the occupational safety and health pioneers whom many of the awards are named after. The winners Read more [...]
Support for Existing Expertise: Community-focused training initiatives to improve the safety and health of Tribal buffalo herd workers
American bison, also known as buffalo, are the largest land mammal in North America and are perfectly adapted to the harsh landscape of the high plains, capable of surviving extreme winters, vast changes in temperature, drought conditions, high humidity, and many diseases that impact other hoofed mammals. In recent decades, indigenous communities across North America and organizations such as the Intertribal Buffalo Council (ITBC) have led efforts to bring the buffalo home to Tribal lands. This work Read more [...]
Keeping Junior Firefighters Safe and Healthy: The Fire Department’s Role in Promoting Positive Childhood Experiences
Historically, junior firefighter programs have been an important recruitment and retention tool for the fire service. Also known as “explorers” or “cadets,” junior firefighters range from 14-17 years of age and are part of volunteer, career, and combination (career/volunteer) fire departments. Most states’ child labor laws limit their participation to only fundraising activities, training, or support work at fireground or rescue operations such as rolling up hoselines Read more [...]
Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace
Work plays a significant role in workers’ mental health. This impact is so substantial that managers impact workers’ mental health more than doctors or therapists do, according to the Workforce Institute’s Mental Health at Work study. The U.S. Surgeon General even emphasizes the role of workplaces in shaping our mental and physical well-being, noting that the average full-time U.S. worker spends about half of their waking life at work. Employment arrangements, wages, and Read more [...]
Using Internal Traffic Control Plans to Prevent Construction Worker Injuries and Fatalities in Work Zones
Struck-by injuries are the leading cause of nonfatal injuries and second most common cause of fatalities among construction workers. From 2011 to 2022, there were 1,462 fatal occupational injuries that occurred at road construction sites .[1] Of these, 68% (n=1,000) were among workers in the construction industry (See figure) followed by workers in transportation and warehousing (11%; n=168) and professional and business services (9%; n=132) industries. Forty-four percent of the occupational Read more [...]
Women’s History Month Reflections on Occupational Exposures and Health Equity
March was Women’s History Month and this year’s theme was “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” This theme urged us to think about the diversity of U.S. women workers and how NIOSH is addressing health equity. Health equity is the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.[1] Occupational health inequities [2] can be influenced by exclusion and discrimination based on factors such as gender, socioeconomic Read more [...]
A Reflection on World Futures Day 2024: NIOSH Efforts to Help Build a Better Tomorrow
Future Day was first celebrated worldwide on March 1, 2012 as a forward-looking reflection on all the possibilities the future holds for humanity.1 Just two years later, the global think tank Millennium Project helped expand the unofficial holiday into what is now recognized as World Futures Day.2 World Futures Day is structured as an open, free-of-charge, all-day event where internationally-recognized futurists, foresight leaders, and members of the public voluntarily come together from across Read more [...]
Sweating the Small Stuff: 20 years of NIOSH Research on Engineering Controls for Nanotechnology
Engineered nanomaterials are intentionally produced substances that have at least one primary dimension less than 100 nanometers (nm). Nanomaterials may have properties different from those of larger particles of the same material, making them unique and desirable for specific product applications (e.g., cosmetics, electronics, construction materials). The health effects associated with nanomaterials are not yet clearly understood, so it is important for producers and users of engineered nanomaterials Read more [...]
Dispelling Myths to Make Healthy Hearing a Reality
This World Hearing Day, March 3, 2024, the World Health Organization is promoting awareness of hearing loss to reduce societal misperceptions and stigma and is encouraging you to do the same. Over 80% of ear and hearing care needs are not met worldwide.[1] Hearing care has an annual cost of nearly $1 trillion (US) globally.[2] Changing mindsets on ear and hearing care is the first step to combatting this largely preventable global health issue. This blog tackles myths on work-related hearing risks Read more [...]
Changing Mindsets on Hearing Disorders Associated with Work Hazards
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Hearing Loss Prevention Program has been an official member of the World Hearing Forum (WHF) since it was launched in 2019. The Forum was assembled by the Office of Ear and Hearing Care of the World Health Organization to promote ear and hearing care worldwide. NIOSH’s membership to the forum builds upon the Hearing Loss Prevention Program’s long-standing contributions to the prevention of work-related hearing Read more [...]
Protecting the Well-being of the Nation’s Health Workforce
The American Journal of Public Health recently published a special supplement with 15 articles focusing on health worker mental health. As part of this special issue, our article Protecting the Mental Health and Well-being of the Nation’s Health Workforce summarizes the scope of the issue and prevention efforts underway at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). A summary consisting of excerpts Read more [...]
AJPH Highlights Health Worker Mental Health
The American Journal of Public Health recently published a special supplement with 15 articles focusing on health worker mental health. This special issue of the journal was sponsored and edited by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and stems from the health worker mental health initiative from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and NIOSH. Research indicates health workers experience high levels of physical injury, harassment, stress, and burnout and many Read more [...]
Finding the Right Fit—Is Your Respirator “The One”?
Finding the right fit is one of the most important parts of a relationship. You don’t just grab any old fish from the sea that swims by and hope for the best. First, it’s necessary to test the waters and ensure you’re simpatico before settling on a partner. It’s Valentine’s Day, and yes, this advice could apply to your romantic life, but we also love to use today to show our love of respirators and we love to play matchmaker on your behalf as well. (That’s a lotta Read more [...]
Prevention Through Design to Address Continuing Construction Workplace Deaths and Injuries
Nearly 1 in 5 of all workplace fatalities occur in the construction industry (BLS, 2024). In 2022 there were 1,092 fatalities in the construction industry (BLS, 2024); in 2021 and 2022 there were 144,480 cases of construction industry workers missing days away from work from a non-fatal injury or illness (BLS, 2023). These and other statistics show that construction remains one of the most dangerous industries for workers. What if we could “design out” or minimize hazards and risks to Read more [...]
NIOSH Global Collaborations on Workplace Safety of Nanomaterials
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) has taken on a global leadership role on research and guidance for nanomaterials in the workplace since the formation of NTRC in 2004 [1]. Global Collaborations is one of the ten critical topic areas for nanotechnology research and communication identified by NTRC [2]. The NIOSH global collaboration efforts build on the strong NIOSH NTRC research and guidance efforts contributing to the global Read more [...]
Nonfatal Occupational Injury Surveillance Data: Examples from Michigan
The importance of developing a tracking system for occupational fatalities, injuries and illnesses was recognized in the original Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970. The Secretary of Labor at that time elected to delegate responsibility to collect, compile, and analyze occupational safety and health statistics. Despite the authority in the OSH Act to cover all workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in the Department of Labor decided to base their data collection program on an Read more [...]
Most-viewed NIOSH Products in 2023
Each January we look back at our most-viewed products from the previous year. This helps us gauge our impact and understand the type of information our users are seeking. Interest in all our platforms remains high. The subject matter making our most-viewed lists covers a wide range of topics including the prevention of firefighter cancer, heat stress, falls, suicide, hearing loss, and hazardous drug exposures. Continue reading to see our most-viewed information on the NIOSH blog, X/Twitter, Facebook, Read more [...]
Long COVID and Occupational Medicine Practice
Some individuals with COVID-19 do not recover to their usual state of health, experiencing a broad array of new or continuing debilitating symptoms collectively referred to as “long COVID.” Long COVID can have a significant impact on a worker’s return to work. In June 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosted the webinar Evaluating and Supporting Patients with Long COVID in Returning to Work. As an extension of the webinar, we recently published Read more [...]
ONDCP Launches New Recovery Ready Workplace Toolkit
In 2022, approximately 110,000 Americans died from a drug overdose. At the same time, 46 million Americans aged 18 or older experienced a substance use disorder in 2022. Nearly two thirds of those people (30.1 million) were employed. The drug overdose epidemic is occurring in and impacting workplaces. Unintentional overdose from the nonmedical use of drugs resulted in 388 worker deaths in 2020, an increase of nearly 500 percent from 2012. It is now clearer than ever that employers can play Read more [...]
Is Occupational Physical Activity Harmful to Health?
A recent webinar from the National Occupational Research Agenda’s Cancer, Reproductive, Cardiovascular, and Other Chronic Disease Prevention (CRC) cross-sector council describes research related to the potential effects of occupational physical activity on workers’ cardiovascular health. This blog summarizes the webinar and discusses the differences between (1) leisure-time physical activity, and (2) occupational physical activity in relation to cardiovascular health and other Read more [...]
Looking to the Past and the Future of NIOSH Nanotechnology Guidance
NIOSH has been at the forefront of research on engineered nanomaterials since the early 2000’s. As the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) celebrates its 20th anniversary, we look back over two decades of NIOSH NTRC published guidance to help reduce worker exposures to engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). Both companies and workers use this guidance to keep workers safer. NTRC research has led to improved recommendations for controlling exposures during advanced manufacturing Read more [...]
Health Equity, Work, and Motor Vehicle Safety
Among U.S. workers, driving a motor vehicle or being exposed to traffic hazards as a pedestrian while at work is a significant risk. In fact, motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are the leading cause death at work in the United States [1]. Many factors can play a role in work-related MVCs, but have you considered how these factors may have different impacts on workers, depending on their social or demographic characteristics? Given NIOSH’s commitment to advancing health equity, our motor vehicle Read more [...]
Want to Improve the Well-Being of Health Workers? The System Itself Must Change
The pandemic has brought attention to the safety, health, and well-being of workers in healthcare. Recent efforts to address these issues include, the Office of the Surgeon General’s Addressing Health Worker Burnout,(1) an “Advisory on Building a Thriving Health Workforce,” from the National Academy of Medicine’s National Plan for Healthcare Workforce Wellbeing (2) and the NIOSH Health Worker Mental Health Initiative (3). For today’s health workers, feeling Read more [...]
