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Clinical Education: Environmental and Occupational Health


Wildfire smoke poses a significant health risk, particularly for vulnerable populations such as farmworkers, given the nature of their jobs and their extended exposure to outdoor environments. This guide provides clinicians and community health workers (CHWs) with an overview of the effects of exposure to wildfire smoke, the reasons why farmworkers are more vulnerable to wildfire smoke, specific considerations for farmworkers, and practical strategies for preventive measures.

Offers basic screening questions, common occupations and ailments associated with them, as well as recommended treatment. Also includes sample letters from clinicians to employers for restricted work.

DATE: May 24, 2017, 1 pm (ET)

SPEAKERS: Juliana Simmons, MSPH, CHES

 

Recorded WebinarParticipant EvaluationPresentation SlidesResources

 

Continuing Education Credit

To receive CME* or CNE credit after viewing this webinar, you must:

Complete the Participant Evaluation associated with this webinarSend an email with your first and last name stating which webinar you completed to contedu@migrantclinician.org

 

Description

​José Navarro was excited for his new career after landing a job in the poultry industry. After five years on the job, 37 year-old Navarro began coughing up blood. He died soon after when his lungs and kidneys failed. His death triggered a federal investigation raising questions about the health risks associated with the use of toxic chemicals in poultry plants.

Millions of workers are exposed to chemicals everyday on the job. All workers have the right to know about the chemicals they work with and community health workers can be an important source of information and support for workers. This workshop will teach community health workers how to explain what happens when someone is exposed to chemicals and how workers can best protect themselves

 

Learning ObjectivesRecognize how workers become exposed to chemicals and illnessesDescribe basic safety practices when working around chemicalsUnderstand the role of community health workers in identifying and preventing work related illnesses and hazards

 

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under cooperative agreement number U30CS09742, Technical Assistance to Community and Migrant Health Centers and Homeless for $1,094,709.00 with 0% of the total NCA project financed with non-federal sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

 

Available in English and Spanish!

 

Created by MCN, medical student Rachel Kelley of UCSF, and collaborators at East Tennessee State University, this guide is intended to be a reference for health care providers who work with people employed in the U.S. tomato industry. It aims to prepare providers with a more detailed understanding of hazards, health issues, and work processes associated with different tomato industry jobs.

This guide draws on published research, experienced health professionals’ advice, and information gathered from interviews and focus groups conducted with 36 tomato workers from diverse backgrounds and 14 community leaders familiar with tomato workers’ health in multiple states. It is important to note that health and safety conditions at any particular farm or company may vary from what is described here. Furthermore, individual workers may experience the same set of conditions differently.

The first section of the guide focuses on health hazards and health conditions commonly encountered in tomato production. The second section consists of detailed descriptions and illustrations of different tomato production tasks. The third section covers “human resources” information and policies that apply to U.S. agricultural workers generally. The appendices contain a Spanish-English glossary, further detail about different types of pesticides, information about agricultural occupational health policies and regulation, and a list of resources and readings.

The importance of clinical diagnostic tools and biomonitoring of exposures to pesticides as well the role of clinicians in pesticide reporting and the challenges clinicians face in accurately diagnosing patients exposed to pesticides are described in a presentation by Matthew Keifer, MD, MPH and Amy K. Liebman, MPA. Click on the link for an APHA policy resolution underscoring the need for clinical diagnostic tools and biomomitoring of exposures to pesticides. This policy supports the information outlined by in the presentation.