The Pump Handle - A Water Cooler for the Public Health Crowd

Education Young farm workers at greater risk of dying on-the-job, proposal to protect them called “detrimental,” “foolish” and “idiotic”

November 18, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 10Comment

For U.S. workers, the risk of dying on the job is highest if you are employed in agricultural, fishing or hunting. These jobs are not just a little riskier than the average job, they are nearly 8 times more life-threatening. The fatality rate for all private sector workers is 3.5 per 100,000 workers; in agriculture, […]

Environmental Health Chronic polluters also chronic workplace health and safety violators

November 17, 2011 The Pump Handle 2Comment

By Elizabeth Grossman We have learned from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) documents obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request and released by the Center for Public Integrity earlier this month that there are currently about 465 United States industrial facilities on what the EPA calls its “watch list.” The list is made up of […]

Public Health Practice Remembering Paul Epstein, a Physician for the Planet

November 16, 2011 The Pump Handle 3Comment

by Dick Clapp, DSc, MPH My friend Dr. Paul Epstein succumbed to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma on Sunday, Nov. 13, three days short of his 68th birthday. Here are some thoughts about him that I wanted to share with TPH readers. First, he was a compassionate physician who worked in low income communities early in his career. […]

Public Health Practice Early investments matter: Infant mortality, vulnerable children, and foster care

November 15, 2011 Liz Borkowski, MPH 2Comment

A few thought-provoking pieces I’ve read this week demonstrate the extent to which the US is failing to invest in our next generation. John Schmid of the Journal Sentinel points out that 44 other countries have lower infant mortality rates than the US (by UNICEF ranking), and we’re tied for 45th place with Montenegro and […]

Cancer My sister is not Death’s Grim Reaper

November 14, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 8Comment

She’s a hospice nurse. When I tell people her occupation, I typically receive a response like this: “She must be a very special person. I could never work in a place where people go to die.” Hospice is a “place,” and equating hospice to death, are just two of the misperceptions that hospice care providers […]

Injury Control & Violence Billion dollar company and a broom handle implicated in death of two workers

November 11, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 3Comment

[Updated 11/14/11 below] Barrick Goldstrike is the largest gold producer in the world, with a stock market value of $51.0 Billion. With that kind of wealth, one has to ask why workers at the company’s Meikle mine near Elko, Nevada were compelled to use a broom handle to keep a reset button depressed, so tons […]

Public Health Practice Floods in Thailand spark fears of disease outbreaks

November 10, 2011 Liz Borkowski, MPH 4Comment

Thailand is experiencing its worst flooding since 1942, and millions of people are affected. The death toll has reached 533, due mostly to drowning but also to electrocutions. CNN reports that more than 113,000 people have arrived at 1,700 government shelters set up across the country, and Bangkok officials have warned residents of interruptions to […]

Occup Health News Roundup Occupational Health News Roundup

November 9, 2011 Liz Borkowski, MPH

A rock burst at a coal mine in China’s Henan province has killed a total of 10 miners. The explosion happened just after a minor 2.9-magnitude earthquake occurred nearby, and 45 workers were rescued after 36 hours underground – although two of those workers later died of their injuries. Last month, a gas explosion at […]

Public Health Practice Preserving autonomy for seniors with home-delivered meals: 40+ years for the Older Americans Act

November 8, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 5Comment

An overwhelming majority of seniors want to remain in their own homes as long as possible. Residing with a family member or friends may not be an option, and assisted living facilities may take too big a chunk out of a senior’s fixed income. Older Americans, and I’d argue most of us, feel more independent […]

Infectious Diseases & Vaccines Lessons from Contagion

November 7, 2011 The Pump Handle 3Comment

By Mark Pendergrast As I watched the blockbuster bio-thriller Contagion, I was struck by how realistic it was in many ways. That isn’t surprising, since many epidemiologists, including those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, served as advisors. The film was based on a simple premise. What if a new, […]