This publication contains major papers presented at the 34th American. Medical AssociationThe Congress on Occupational Health, held September 9 to 10, 1974 in Chicago, Illinois. and Congress was supported in part by the National Institute for Occupational Safety compiled Health through Contract No. CDC-99-74-30. Dr. Henry Howe was AMA Project Director and the initial proceedings from the verbatim transcript.
"New York Times" bestselling author and all-time "Jeopardy!" champion Ken Jennings delivers a characteristically engaging and surprisingly useful new book, revealing the truth behind all the terrible things our parents used to warn us about.
This 39th AMA Congress once again endeavored to bring to the awareness· of the medical community-the practicing physician, the teacher, the student and other allied health professionals-some of the occupational safety and health concerns of the day, The meeting opened with addresses that expressed the attitudes and aspirations of both government and the medical profession. Women in the work force and occupational cancer continue to draw attention; hence, these topics occupied a large share of the program, Inasmuch as North Carolina is the home of a large number of small plants and industries, there were several papers that reflected the problems either inherent to or handled by such facilities. Of particular note are the discussions on urea-formaldehyde building materials and wood dust, both subjects which are now receiving overdue attention because of their recently discovered adverse health effects.
Cumulative catalog of all National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) numbered publications, health hazard evaluations (HHE) and technical assistance (TA) reports, contract reports, and other educational and training materials.
The present manual tries to respond to the specific needs of occupa- tional health epidemiology. Rather than a comprehensive review of the subject, the book presents a series of articles. The first four chap- ters deal with general principles and definitions in occupational epi demioligy and describe the work-related hazards and diseases. Chapter 5,6 and 7 deal with information collection and the use of data in the assessment of health risks and in descriptive epidemiology. General methods for epidemiological studies are discussed. The following chap ters address specific aspects such as the study of combined effects, the statistical analysis of epidemiological data, the validity as- pects of epidemiological studies, including consideration on the pro- blems of 'false positive' and 'false negative' results and the basis for causality judgment or the particular interest of experimental epi demiology in occupational health. Chapters cover two special issues of importance to workers' health, namely occupational stress and the epidemiology of accidents.
Work, so fundamental to well-being, has its darker and more costly side. Work can adversely affect our health, well beyond the usual counts of injuries that we think of as 'occupational health'. The ways in which work is organized - its pace and intensity, degree of control over the work process, sense of justice, and employment security, among other things - can be as toxic to the health of workers as the chemicals in the air. These work characteristics can be detrimental not only to mental well-being but to physical health. Scientists refer to these features of work as 'hazards' of the 'psychosocial' work environment. One key pathway from the work environment to illness is through the mechanism of stress; thus we speak of 'stressors' in the work environment, or 'work stress'. This is in contrast to the popular psychological understandings of 'stress', which locate many of the problems with the individual rather than the environment. In this book we advance a social environmental understanding of the workplace and health. The book addresses this topic in three parts: the important changes taking place in the world of work in the context of the global economy (Part I); scientific findings on the effects of particular forms of work organization and work stressors on employees' health, 'unhealthy work' as a major public health problem, and estimates of costs to employers and society (Part II); and, case studies and various approaches to improve working conditions, prevent disease, and improve health (Part III).
