In the latest issue of EHS Today, Terence Milford lays out the case to employers for investing in ergonomics: In 2002, a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor reported that employees suffering from repetitive stress injuries incurred in the workplace took a median of 23 days off work, while those who experienced a […]
Back in December, the Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division published a proposed rule that would extend minimum-wage and overtime pay protections to the home care workers who assist elderly and disabled patients with their daily needs. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that nonexempt workers be paid minimum wage (currently $7.25 per hour) […]
The World Health Organization has confirmed that India has gone a whole year without having a new case of polio — a major milestone in a country that was once plagued by the crippling disease. BBC’s Fergus Walsh explains that the country won’t formally be regarded as polio-free until it’s gone another two years without […]
There’s a growing body of research linking childhood trauma (abuse, neglect, family dysfunction, etc.) to impaired brain development and functioning. Maia Szalavitz at TIME’s Healthland blog describes the findings of new study by Harvard researchers (published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences): Now, in the largest study yet to use brain scans […]
Earlier today, US Attorney Booth Goodwin charged Upper Big Branch mine superintendent Gary May with “conspiring to impede the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s enforcement efforts” at that mine. Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia was the site of numerous health and safety violations leading up to the April 5, […]
Everyone should read the personal story by Kevin Zelnio, a marine biologist and blogger at EvoEcoLab, about his son’s recent medical emergency. Having a six-year-old child whose flulike symptoms turn into a struggle to breathe must be scary enough — but this family’s troubles are compounded by not having health insurance. Zelnio is self-employed, and […]
Most readers are probably aware that tomorrow, 2/14, is Valentine’s Day, but do you know what’s significant about 2/13? It’s not a cue to buy chocolates — it’s a reminder that federal law only requires restaurants to pay their workers an hourly wage of $2.13. That minimum hasn’t been raised since 1991; if it had […]
The House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee has approved what Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood calls “the worst transportation bill I’ve ever seen during 35 years of public service.” LaHood spent 14 years in Congress, serving as a Republican representative from Illinois, and told Politico that Congress always came together in the past to support transportation, […]
I wrote last month about the role of chronic diseases in healthcare-cost growth, so I was excited to see a new report from the Institute of Medicine called Living Well with Chronic Illness: A Call for Public Health Action. When I think of chronic illness, diabetes and heart disease are what leap to my mind […]
Public Health Practice
Worth Reading: Alcohol in homeless shelters, fossil-fuel subsidies, and “suicide mosquitoes”
A few of the recent pieces I’ve liked: Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post: Why the poor should concern Romney Scott Carlson in The Chronicle of Higher Education: America’s Health Threat: Poor Urban Design Maia Szalavitz at Healthland: The Wet House: Homeless People with Alcoholism Drink Less When Booze Is Allowed (Also see Matt Stroud […]