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Article
Publication date: 7 November 2016

Adam Hege, Michael Perko, Yorghos Apostolopoulos, Sevil Sönmez and Robert Strack

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of both occupational safety and health (OSH) and worksite health promotion (WHP) efforts targeted at long-haul truck drivers…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of both occupational safety and health (OSH) and worksite health promotion (WHP) efforts targeted at long-haul truck drivers (LHTDs) and to identify strengths and weaknesses to inform future interventions and/or policy changes.

Design/methodology/approach

Review of the literature was done to identify theoretical and methodological approaches frequently used for protecting and promoting the health and well-being of LHTDs.

Findings

Health and safety issues impacting LHTDs are complex and naturally interrelated. Historically, the majority of approaches to the health and safety of LHTDs have emphasized the safety side and there has been a lack of comprehensive and integrated WHP/OSH attempts.

Originality/value

The literature pertaining to LHTD health has expanded in recent years, but intervention and policy efforts have had limited success. Several scholars have discussed the need for integrating WHP/OSH efforts for LHTD health, but have not actually provided a description or a framework of what it entails in which the authors provide a conclusion to the review of the literature. The authors provide a critical discussion regarding a collaborative approach focused on National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health’s Total Worker Health model. The integration further promotes an advancement of theoretical and methodological strategies.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 December 2015

Adam Hege, Quirina M. Vallejos, Yorghos Apostolopoulos and Michael Kenneth Lemke

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature pertaining to occupational health disparities experienced by Latino immigrant workers in the USA and to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature pertaining to occupational health disparities experienced by Latino immigrant workers in the USA and to advance a general framework based on systems science to inform epidemiological and intervention research.

Design/methodology/approach

Using papers and other sources from 2000 to the present, the authors examined the employment conditions and health outcomes of Latino immigrant workers and critically analyzed the pervasive evidence of health disparities, including causal mechanisms and associated intervention programs.

Findings

The occupations, including the work environment and resultant living conditions, frequently performed by Latino immigrants in the USA represent a distinct trigger of increased injury risk and poor health outcomes. Extant intervention programs have had modest results at best and are in need of more comprehensive approaches to address the complex nature of health disparities.

Practical implications

An integrated, systems-based framework concerning occupational health disparities among Latino immigrant workers allows for a holistic approach encompassing innovative methods and can inform high-leverage interventions including public policy.

Originality/value

Reductionist approaches to health disparities have had significant limitations and miss the complete picture of the many influences. The framework the authors have provided elucidates a valuable method for reducing occupational health disparities among Latino immigrant workers as well as other populations.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 June 2012

Yorghos Apostolopoulos, Sevil Sönmez, Mona Shattell and Michael H. Belzer

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the transportation environment triggers, exacerbates and sustains truckers’ risks for obesity and associated morbidities.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the transportation environment triggers, exacerbates and sustains truckers’ risks for obesity and associated morbidities.

Design/methodology/approach

An extensive literature review of PubMed Central and TRANSPORT databases was conducted on truckers’ obesity risks and 120 journal articles were identified for closer evaluation. From these, populations, exposures, and relevant outcomes were evaluated within the framework of the broad transportation environment.

Findings

Connections between the transportation environment and truckers’ risks for obesity‐associated comorbidities were delineated, and an original conceptual framework was developed to illustrate links between the two. This framework addresses links not only between the transportation environment and trucker obesity risks but also with other health strains – applicable to other transport occupational segments. Moreover, it provides direction for preliminary environmental‐scale interventions to curb trucker obesity. The utilization of this framework further underscores the need for: an appraisal of the health parameters of trucking worksites; assessment of truckers’ obesity‐risk trajectories, and examination of potential causality between the transportation environment, inactivity and diet‐related morbidities; and the development, implementation and evaluation of interventions to mitigate trucker obesity. While there is a geographic emphasis on North America, data and assertions of this paper are applicable to trucking sectors of many industrialized nations.

Originality/value

The paper brings to light the influences of the transportation environment on trucker obesity‐associated morbidity risks.

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