Health Benefit Utilization System Changes to Support Health Benefit Utilization for New Employees The goal of this project is to increase the understanding and utilization of University of Iowa health insurance benefits by new employees, especially those who are lower-wage earners and/or for whom English is not their primary language. We will build upon existing […]
Opioid Use Opioid Prescription Use Among Union Construction Workers A survey was conducted with union apprentices in 2018 and findings demonstrated high musculoskeletal symptoms and use of prescription pain medications. Opioids are commonly prescribed for treatment of musculoskeletal injuries and some data show these prescriptions are given for chronic musculoskeletal conditions as well. Construction workers […]
Opioid Treatment Opioid Treatment and Work-Related Injuries in Iowa This project is using Iowa’s workers’ compensation data and data from Iowa’s Prescription Monitoring Program to examine how physically demanding jobs (e.g., healthcare and social assistance, manufacturing, retail trade, and educational services) impact opioid treatment and opioid related deaths. Publications Coming soon. Presentations Coming soon.
Construction Impacting the Safety, Health, and Well-Being of Construction Apprentices: Using Intermediaries to Disseminate Change The Construction Intermediary Research Project had two major components. First, we conducted a longitudinal survey among apprentice construction workers to identify relationships between work organization, environmental factors, health behaviors, and health outcomes. Second, we prioritized Total Worker Health (TWH) interventions […]
Construction Mental Health in Construction While great strides have been taken to reduce traumatic injury and chemical exposures among construction workers, there is little awareness of or organized effort to understand and change work organization and environment issues that contribute to striking disparities in health and health behaviors that exist in this worker population. Since […]
Opioid Use Opioid Use Guidelines Construction workers continue to use prescription opioids and other substances for relief from pain caused by excessive physical and mental demands of work. Many construction factors including non-standard work arrangements, complex organization of work and narrow profit margins create challenges for employers to create effective opioid prevention programs and recovery […]
Remote Work Supervising the Future of Remote Work Training for supervisors of remote workers is increasingly available, but lacks an evidence-base assessing the efficacy of these trainings, and fails to address the well-being of supervisors or employees. In this research project, the team will develop a training to address remote supervisor well-being and productivity and […]
Nursing Homes Implementation of Total Worker Health® in Nursing Homes The overall objective of this project is to determine the organizational factors that impact adoption and implementation of TWH interventions in nursing homes. This study has two aims. The first aim focuses on assessing the impact of key organizational factors, such as chain membership and community resources, […]
Work Factors The Role of Work Factors Influencing Health Behaviors, Health Interventions, and Health and Employment Outcomes This small project is focused on the effects of work organization, workplace physical and psychosocial factors, and organizational health culture as predictors of changes in body weight and health behaviors including healthy eating and physical activity. Data from […]
Truck Drivers Examining Health, Safety, and Turnover Among Truck Drivers Ashamsa Aryal was awarded funding to investigate the relationships between health, safety, and retention in the trucking industry. Trucking is the primary method of transporting goods within the country with 49.3 million tons of freight moved every day by long haul truck drivers. Demand for truck […]