Green Collar Workers: The New Frontier

描述（由申请人提供）：保护和提高环境质量的绿领职业现在代表了美国新的劳动力前沿。专门针对美国绿领工人的基于人群的职业健康监测系统尚未开发。使用描述性和创新性的先进统计方法，如结构方程模型（SEM），我们建议描述当前美国绿领工人的健康状况，并研究职业暴露、健康状况、肌肉骨骼疾病的功能限制和伤害风险之间的联系。描述性和高级分析技术的使用将通过绿领职业健康头衔提供强大，灵活和创新的方法，同时控制特定的工作场所暴露和身体需求，首次允许对各种新兴和未解决的研究问题进行系统检查，包括：1)美国绿领工人的社会人口统计学特征是什么？2)与蓝领、服务业、白领和农场工人相比，美国绿领工人的健康状况和活动限制是什么？3)绿领工人报告的功能限制是否与伤害率的差异有关？4)工作场所体力需求是否影响绿领工人的体力活动？5)与蓝领工人相比，绿领工人患肌肉骨骼疾病的负担是否更高？本研究的数据将来自于美国国家卫生统计中心（NCHS）研究数据中心（RDC）通过美国职业信息网络（O*NET）系统收集的关键职业标识符（如标准职业分类（SOC）代码、职称、体力工作需求、工作特征）与美国职业信息网络（O*NET）系统连接的全国健康访谈调查（NHIS）。利用2004+ NHIS的数据，对超过202个O*NET确定的绿领职业的社会人口特征、健康行为、发病率和健康状况进行全面的描述性统计。将为整个绿领工人群体制定描述性统计数据，并在样本量允许的情况下按性别和种族/民族分层。NORA将为绿领工人提供具体部门的分层，以及伤害、中毒事件和肌肉骨骼疾病的措施。利用扫描电镜，我们将研究绿领工人的职业和功能限制之间的关系，以及由重要健康行为（如工作场所和闲暇时间的体育活动）介导的关联。拟议的研究目的支持国家职业安全与健康研究所监测优先事项的关键目标以及许多中间目标，包括：1)开发和加强使用联邦一级的监测数据，以确定优先事项、趋势和新出现的问题；2)开展新的活动，扩大现有监测活动未涵盖的优先条件的监测范围；3)促进下一代职业健康研究人员，特别是少数民族研究人员的发展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Green-collar occupations that preserve and enhance environmental quality now represent the new US workforce frontier. Population-based occupational health surveillance systems specifically for US green-collar workers have yet to be developed. Using descriptive and innovative advanced statistical methods such as Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), we propose to characterize the current US green-collar worker health status as well as study linkages between occupational exposures, health status, functional limitations with musculoskeletal disorders and injury risk. The use of both descriptive and advanced analytic techniques will afford a powerful, flexible and innovative approach through green-collar occupational health titles while controlling for specific workplace exposures and physical demands, permitting for the first time, a systematic examination of a variety of emerging and unanswered research questions including: 1) What are the sociodemographic characteristics of US green-collar workers?; 2) What is the health status and activity limitation o US green-collar workers as compared to blue-collar, service, white-collar and farm workers? 3) Are functional limitations reported by green-collar workers associated with differences in injury rates? 4) Do workplace physical demands influence green-collar worker physical activities?; and 5) Do green-collar workers experience a higher burden of musculoskeletal disorders, than their blue-collar worker counterparts? Data from this study will come from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) linked with the US Occupational Information Network (O*NET) System using key occupational identifiers collected in O*NET (e.g., Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code, occupational title, physical work demands, job characteristics) via the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Research Data Center (RDC). Comprehensive descriptive statistics of the sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, morbidity, and health conditions on over 202 O*NET identified green-collar occupations using data from the 2004+ NHIS will be documented. Descriptive statistics will be developed for the total group of green-collar workers, and stratified by gender and race/ethnicity when sample size permits. NORA sector-specific strata will be presented for the green-collar workers, as well as measures of injury, poisoning episodes and musculoskeletal disorders. Using SEM, we will examine the relationships between occupation and functional limitations among green-collar workers along with associations mediated by important health behaviors (e.g. workplace and leisure-time physical activity). Proposed study aims support key goals of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health surveillance priorities as well as numerous intermediate goals, including: 1) the development and strengthening the use of Federal level surveillance data to identify priorities, trends, and emerging issues; 2) the development of new activities to expand the scope of surveillance for priority conditions not covered by existing surveillance activities; and 3) facilitating the development of the next generation of occupational health researchers, particularly minority investigators. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Green-collar occupations represent the new U.S. workforce frontier in their job focus to preserve and enhance environmental quality. Population-based occupational health surveillance systems, specifically for US green collar workers have yet to be developed. Using descriptive and innovative advanced statistical techniques, this revised proposal will describe current US green-collar worker sociodemographic characteristics, health status, as well as study linkages between occupational exposures, health status, functional limitations with musculoskeletal disorders and injury risk. It will also categorize green jobs and work practices as a necessary first step in understanding how green jobs affect worker safety and health.