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口的职业健康监测系统尚未开发。使用描述性和创新的先进的统计方法，如结构方程模型（SEM），我们建议描述目前美国绿领工人的健康状况，以及职业暴露，健康状况，功能限制与肌肉骨骼疾病和伤害风险之间的联系。使用描述性和先进的分析技术将提供一个强大的，灵活的和创新的方法，通过绿领职业健康头衔，同时控制特定的工作场所暴露和身体需求，允许第一次，一个系统的检查各种新兴的和未回答的研究问题，包括：1）什么是美国绿领工人的社会人口特征？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与受伤率的差异有关吗？4)工作场所的体力需求是否影响绿领工人的体力活动？绿领工人是否比蓝领工人经历更高的肌肉骨骼疾病负担？本研究的数据将来自与美国职业信息网络（O*NET）系统链接的国家健康访谈调查（NHIS），使用O*NET中收集的关键职业标识符（例如，标准职业分类（SOC）代码，职业头衔，体力工作要求，工作特点）通过国家卫生统计中心（NCHS）研究数据中心（RDC）。综合描述性统计的社会人口特征，健康行为，发病率和健康状况超过202 O*NET确定绿领职业使用的数据从2004年+ NHIS将被记录。将对整个绿领工人组进行描述性统计，并在样本量允许的情况下按性别和人种/种族进行分层。诺拉部门的具体层次将介绍绿领工人，以及伤害，中毒事件和肌肉骨骼疾病的措施。使用SEM，我们将研究职业和功能限制之间的关系，在绿领工人沿着与重要的健康行为（如工作场所和休闲时间的身体活动）介导的协会。拟议的研究目标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）开发和加强联邦级监测数据的使用，以确定优先事项、趋势和新出现的问题; 2）开发新的活动，以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的发展，特别是少数民族研究人员。 公共卫生相关性：绿领职业代表了美国新的劳动力前沿，他们的工作重点是保护和提高环境质量。针对美国绿色领工人的以人群为基础的职业健康监测系统还有待开发。使用描述性和创新的先进统计技术，这一修订后的提案将描述当前美国绿领工人的社会人口学特征，健康状况，以及职业暴露，健康状况，功能限制与肌肉骨骼疾病和伤害风险之间的研究联系。它还将对绿色工作和工作实践进行分类，作为了解绿色工作如何影响工人安全和健康的必要的第一步。

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.