The work setting offers the health educator a unique opportunity for research. This article discusses advantages and disadvantages associated with health education research in the workplace and suggests ways the research efforts in this setting can be optimized. (DF)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health instituted a project in 1980 to encourage engineering educators to focus on occupational safety and health issues in engineering curricula. Progress to date is outlined, considering specific results in curriculum development, engineering society interaction, and formation of a teaching…

Discusses causes and symptoms of depression and its effects in the workplace. Suggests what managers and employee assistance programs can do to address this major occupational health issue. (SK)

Ergonomics focuses on the prevention of injuries through proper design of equipment, workstations, and products. The adoption of an ergonomic philosophy in the workplace has demonstrable benefits. (JOW)

Two community-based projects employed social marketing to design and implement interventions to promote health. The Arkansas project involved key informant interviews, actuarial analysis, citizen and student surveys, and participant observation. The Florida approach included focus groups and provider, worker, and employer surveys. (Contains 25…

Despite significant progress in efforts to abolish child labor, an alarming number of children are engaged in its worst forms. Although 106 million are engaged in acceptable labor (light work for those above the minimum age for employment), 246 million are involved in child labor that should be abolished (under minimum age, hazardous work). (JOW)

Describes Multitasking Systems (MTS), an office services firm that employs only people with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. It was established by an infectious disease specialist who observed that patients who remain employed do remarkably better than those who do not. (JOW)

Argues that today's corporation must keep informed a wide range of individuals who have a stake in environment, health, and safety issues. Describes four elements of an effective communications program for doing so: electronic media to communicate technical information, environmental and safety audits, public communications with company…

Lists 15 principles for working safely with equipment. Describes phases of an ergonomic hazards program to identify and prevent problems and causes of cumulative trauma disorders in the workplace. (SK)

Explored empirical relationship between employer disability prevention and management practices and their workers' compensation claims experience. Data from 124 firms revealed high variability among firms within same industry and operating under same state workers' compensation statute. Findings support assumption that significant portion of…

A study of trainees (n=88) in a competency-based occupational safety and health training program found that environmental factors (opportunities to use skills, peer/supervisor support, and supervisor sanctions) were most influential on motivation to transfer training. Training attitudes may be affected by prior experiences when the use of training…

Describes how at the University of Maryland at College Park, language professors say mold growing in their offices is not only destructive to morale, but also endangers their health. (EV)

Examined the impact of participating in an incentive-based employee health promotion program on modifiable health risk factors over 4 years. Data from physiological and self-report measures indicated that modifiable health risks improved over time (smoking, physical activity, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and seat belt use). Cholesterol…

"SAMHSA News" is the national newsletter of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Published six times a year (bimonthly) by SAMHSA's Office of Communications, SAMHSA News contains information about the latest substance abuse and mental health treatment and prevention practices, recent statistics on mental health and…

Context: Pesticide exposure is an important environmental and occupational health risk for agricultural workers and their families, but health care providers receive little training in it. Objective: To evaluate the medical resources available to providers caring for patients, particularly farmworkers, exposed to pesticides and to recommend a…