research
The Pump Handle
Tag archives for research
New study lifts the lid on unhealthy kitchen conditions in migrant farmworker housing
Posted by The Pump Handle on February 22, 2013 For many migrant farmworkers, the health risks don’t stop at the end of the workday. After long, arduous hours in the field, many will return to a home that also poses dangers to their well-being. And quite ironically for a group of workers that harvests our nation’s food, one of those housing risks is poor cooking and eating facilities.
Study: Despite health risks tied to industrial food animal production, health departments have little involvement
Posted by The Pump Handle on February 8, 2013 A couple years ago, two public health researchers attended a hearing about the possible expansion of an industrial food animal production facility. During the hearing, a community member stood up to say that if the expansion posed any hazards, the health department would surely be there to protect the people. The two researchers knew that probably wasn’t the case.
New report confirms Texas’ abysmal record on construction worker safety
Posted by The Pump Handle on February 1, 2013 Texas may boast a booming construction sector, but a deeper look reveals an industry filled with wage theft, payroll fraud, frighteningly lax safety standards, and preventable injury and death. In reality, worker advocates say such conditions are far from the exception — instead, they’ve become the norm.
Report: Americans dying earlier, getting sicker than those in other high-income nations
Posted by The Pump Handle on January 25, 2013 When it comes to good health, America is far from top dog. A new report finds that although the nation has experienced improvements in life expectancy and survival in the last century, we’re falling behind our counterparts in other high-income countries.
New, first-of-its-kind Canadian study to chronicle the impact of occupational cancers
Posted by The Pump Handle on January 14, 2013 Dr. Paul Demers says he frequently finds himself having to make the case for why studying workplace exposures to carcinogens is important. Oftentimes, he says, people believe such occupational dangers are a thing of the past. But a new four-year study he’s leading could change all that.
Concealed handguns study takes a different approach to measuring risk
Posted by The Pump Handle on January 11, 2013 Amidst discussions of new gun control measures, a study finds that adding new settings where people can bring concealed weapons could increase the risk of some crimes.
New study explores the healthy immigrant effect, casting doubt on the current school of thought
Posted by The Pump Handle on January 7, 2013 It’s often noted that immigrants to the United States experience a decline in health after adopting American lifestyle habits. However, a recent study has found that new immigrants might not be arriving in such good health after all.
Safety experiences of union carpenters, imagine what it’s like for the rest of them
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on December 20, 2012 A survey of more than 1,000 union carpenter apprentices describes how production pressure can compromise safety and how suffering an on-the-job injury can compromise your job security. The frank comments from workers who have the protection of a union makes me wonder how bad it must be for non-union workers.
Excess breast cancer risk among women employed in automobile plastics facilities
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on December 12, 2012 Two recently published papers funded by the federal agency Health Canada report on excess risk of breast cancer among auto plastics workers and the chemical compounds and processes used that are the likely culprits.
First-of-its-kind survey compiles the experience of domestic workers, highlights the grim nature of an unregulated industry
Posted by The Pump Handle on December 7, 2012 The collective experience of domestic workers — house cleaners, nannies and caregivers — often remains hidden from view. But a new survey has pulled back the curtain on the conditions and experiences domestic workers face, documenting issues such as wage exploitation, preventable on-the-job injuries and the little — if any — power domestic workers have in improving their work environments.