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We study the impact of our surroundings, both natural and built, on health.
The field of environmental and occupational health covers everything from the air we breathe and the water we drink to the injuries and mental health challenges we may face at work. We strive to improve health by promoting practices and policies that reduce harmful exposures and protect vulnerable populations. From improving worker health and safety, to promoting healthy housing, to creating new tools to monitor air and water quality, we work to make our homes, our workplaces, and our communities healthier places for all.
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A graduate degree in environmental & occupational health prepares you to think critically about complex challenges and to design solutions that improve public health. When you leave one of our programs, you’ll be ready to address emerging environmental and workplace issues in a way that builds on science while prioritizing real people. Our graduates work in environmental health and safety, emergency management, environmental epidemiology, and workplace safety and health in private, nonprofit, and government organizations.
Climate change is impacting our food chain, and the workers who grow, harvest, and package that food. Global temperatures increases affect the health of workers in the agricultural industry.
Researchers from the Center for Health, Work & Environment (CHWE) at the Colorado School of Public Health (ColoradoSPH) have completed their first round of data collection for a two-year heat-related research project with agricultural workers in Jalisco, Mexico, as the implementing partner ofthe International Labour Organization (ILO)'s Vision Zero Fund. The seasoned team of experts from CHWE are working to improve workers’ occupational safety and health in selected supply chains in Mexico.
The produce is grown in greenhouses the size of soccer fields. Workers traverse ladders with caution as to not touch the produce with any bare part of their bodies. Temperatures in the greenhouses can reach 100.58 degrees Fahrenheit with 94.3% humidity.
This study explores the same set of workers over two years, comparing the heat impacts on those harvesting versus packaging the produce. The research team is gathering multiple time points different seasons. They are measuring heat exposure, physical activity, heat-mitigation practices, and health status. After data collection, the team will collaborate with study participants to develop an intervention (workers, managers, owners, other stakeholders) in spirit of collective action.
Using the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature measure, probes asses the overall heat impact by measuring temperature, humidity and radiation. In addition, ambient temperature humidity is measured by iButtons, worn on the outside of worker's attire.
Along with collecting employee biomarkers before and after work, the researchers are also exploring work intensity using the Frimat and Chamous ergonomic method. Collecting multiple points of measurement contributes to a holistic assesment of how workers are impacted by heat through their daily work, demonstrating a Total Worker Health® approach to research and interventions.
In year two, the team will implement the intervention and repeat data collection of the same measures to assess how effective the intervention is on improving the health of workers. As part of the study, participants receive clinical information about their health including results of blood and urine tests to detect common health conditions like diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, and anemia.
Stay tuned for more study updates. Our newsletter is the best way to hear about what we are doing!
Written by Laura Veith, communications and media program manager for the Center for Health, Work & Environment at the ColoradoSPH.