The Climate, Work & Health Initiative is an interdisciplinary group of researchers and public health practitioners whose mission is to play a proactive role in identifying and promoting climate-resilient workplaces, workforces, and communities. We are dedicated to keeping workers and their families safe, healthy, and productive by preventing and reducing health impacts from the effects of changing work environments and exposures.

Highlights

  • Kathy James SLV

    Agricultural Worker Mental Health in Southern Colorado

    Jun 1, 2023
    While doing a preliminary assessment for environmental health hazards for the agriculture workforce in Southern Colorado, researcher Kathy James was redirected. Her community partners sounded an alarm for a behavioral health crisis in the Ag community.
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  • Sugarcane workers near bus

    Sugarcane workweek study: Risk factors for daily changes in creatinine

    Aug 18, 2021
    Researchers from the Center for Health, Work & Environment have published a paper in Kidney International Reports studying the daily changes in creatinine among sugarcane workers in Guatemala. The study examined the effects of repeated kidney stress from the simultaneous strain of work and other factors experienced by workers during a typical workweek.
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  • sunset over sugarcane field in Guatemala

    New initiative at University of Colorado connects climate, work, and healthOpens in a new window

    Aug 9, 2021
    There is no denying it—climate change is bringing the heat. If you are one of the many workers in the U.S. or around the world who work outdoors, extreme heat is not just uncomfortable; it can pose a significant risk to your health. For researchers at the Center for Health, Work and Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health, the connection between climate, work, and health is hitting especially close to home.
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  • Jaime Butler-Dawson

    NIH research grant to address kidney disease among women in Guatemala

    May 24, 2021
    Dr. Jaime Butler-Dawson, from the Center for Health, Work, & Environment, has received a Career Development Award from the NIH. The three-year K01 grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will provides support to examine the environmental determinants of kidney injury in female sugarcane workers and female community members in Guatemala.
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Publications

Sorensen CJ, Butler-Dawson J, Dally M, Krisher L, Griffin BR, Johnson RJ, et al. Risk Factors and Mechanisms Underlying Cross-Shift Decline in Kidney Function in Guatemalan Sugarcane Workers. J Occup Environ Med. 2019;61(3):239-50.

Butler-Dawson J, Krisher L, Yoder H, Dally M, Sorensen C, Johnson RJ, et al. Evaluation of heat stress and cumulative incidence of acute kidney injury in sugarcane workers in Guatemala. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2019.

Dally M, Butler-Dawson J, Krisher L, Monaghan A, Weitzenkamp D, Sorensen C, et al. The impact of heat and impaired kidney function on productivity of Guatemalan sugarcane workers. Plos One. 2018;13(10).

Krisher L, Butler-Dawson J, Yoder H, Pilloni D, Dally M, Johnson EC, et al. Electrolyte beverage intake to promote hydration and maintain kidney function in Guatemalan sugarcane workers laboring in hot conditions.; J Occup Environ Med 2020 online ahead of print.