The kidnapping of two aid workers from the Dadaab refugee camp on the Kenya-Somalia border is a grim reminder of the crisis situation in the region, especially Somalia. Al-Jazeera’s Peter Greste has some numbers: [I]n Somalia alone, four million people are still starving nationwide; three million of those live in the South. Of these, 750,000 […]
By Jay Graham Global Handwashing Day is coming up on October 15, and events in its honor will be occurring all week. Children are a key focus of handwashing campaigns. Diarrhea continues as the second leading cause of death in kids under 5 years of age globally. Nearly one in every five child deaths, around […]
Public Health Practice
Experts recommend electronic health records contain information about patients’ work history
An ad hoc committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) identified a litany of potential benefits of including information about individuals’ occupations, industry, and work environment in their electronic health records (EHRs). The reason the question was posed at all stems from a provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which provides […]
Back in August, events and exhibits marked the one-year anniversary of learning that 33 miners who were trapped underground in Chile’s San Jose mine were alive. The rescue, which involved drilling a 2,000 foot shaft and lifting out the miners who’d endured 69 days underground, captivated viewers around the world. The New York Times’ Alexei […]
Last Friday, CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report included a report on the listeriosis outbreak associated with Jensen Farms cantaloupe (the grower is recalling the melons; look for “Rocky Ford” on the label). So far, 84 cases have been confirmed in 19 states, and 15 of these victims have died. The number of cases may […]
Freshman congressman Larry Bucshon (R-IN) scolded OSHA chief David Michaels for using the term “cancer” as a buzz word. The congressman, who is also a thoracic surgeon, said: “I don’t like it when people use buzz words that try to get people’s attention, and cancer is one of those.” The exchanged occured last week at […]
Worker Health & Safety
At Sea: Gulf of Mexico tragedy highlights gaps in overseas worker health and safety coverage
by Elizabeth Grossman On September 7th, Tropical Storm Nate began roaring over the Gulf of Mexico where a liftboat, the Trinity II, was stationed in the Bay of Campeche working for Geokinetics, a U.S. company engaged to support offshore oil operations of the Mexican oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). By the 8th, high seas and […]
It’s been 8 weeks now since two 17 year-old workers lost legs in an industrial auger while employed at a grain handling facility in Kremlin, Oklahoma. One of the young men remains in the hospital, but may be released soon to a rehabilitation facility. When I first wrote about this horrible incident, I noted that […]
The Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News has put together an excellent – and alarming – story on salmonella in chicken. Jeffrey Benzing, Esther French and Judah Ari Gross outline the problem this way: Salmonella is found in a range of food products, including meat, produce and eggs. Chicken is the single biggest source of […]
Injury Control & Violence
Curious to learn about workplace safety in a responsible regulatory environment
I’m eager to listen in on tomorrow’s congressional hearing about workplace safety. It’s being conducted by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, with the title “Workplace Safety: Ensuring a Responsible Regulatory Environment.” That’s a heading that probably means different things to different people, and those of us watching would […]