Occupational Fatigue of Nurses Feasibility Study for Assessing Nurses’ Occupational Fatigue Using the Sleep, Activity, Fatigue, and Task Effectiveness (SAFTE) Biomathematical Model Studies have shown that fatigued nurses are at high risk for work injuries, car accidents, negative health outcomes, and patients’ care errors. Advancement in biomathematical modeling provided a novel approach to measure fatigue […]
Farming Hazards for Seniors Detection of Environmental Hazards by Senior Farmers Using a Simulated Tractor Environment Kayla Faust, PhD, formerly a graduate student in the College of Public Health, used the University of Iowa’s National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) for a research study on how age and factors associated with age, such as hypertension and […]
Women Farmers and Stress Agricultural Production Practices and Stress: A Pilot Study of Women Farmers in Iowa Carly Nichols and Silvia Secchi were awarded funding to investigate the relationships between agricultural production practices and stress among women farm operators in Iowa. Farm stressor inventories and occupational hardiness scales have been used to assess stress among […]
The Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest (HWC) at the University of Iowa and Washington University is pleased to announce the availability of funds for New Investigator and Student pilot projects. The HWC is one of six Total Worker Health® (TWH) Centers of Excellence funded through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). […]
The recent release of Total Worker Health edited by NIOSH leaders features a chapter from the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest. The chapter shares results of a survey of small businesses in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. While the majority of employers in the US consist of small businesses, they have received less attention […]
Jaegers, Lisa A., PhD; Matthieu, Monica M., PhD; Vaughn, Michael G., PhD; Werth, Paul, MS; Katz, Ian M., MS; Ahmad, Syed Omar, PhD The aim of this study was to explore posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom prevalence and health characteristics among jail correctional officers, a generally understudied population of public safety workers. Officers employed in […]
The Virtual Soldier Research Program developed digital human modeling software to predict posture, motion, and other functions in a three-dimensional, real-time environment. The technology considers real-world constraints such as muscle fatigue and strength, carrying needs, body size, and clothing restrictions to determine soldiers’ performance in varying conditions. With funding from the Healthier Workforce Center, Nate […]
Construction is clearly dangerous. In addition to traditional hazards for workplace injury and illness, other threats to health and well-being of construction workers occur from work organization and work environment factors,including irregular employment, working at multiple job sites, long commutes,long work hours, and employer policies regarding health and safety. These non-traditional hazards are associated with […]
The Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest has had funding to examine the health and safety of construction apprentices. 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 […]
Early detection and treatment of breast cancer has led many women to be able to return to work, particularly those with early-stage cancer.While medical advances have been great, disparities for African American women remain. A pilot project funded by the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwestto Christine Ekenga, PhD, a faculty member at Washington University […]