UCLA Work and Health Course Syllabus 2018

Click here for the UCLA Work and Health Course Syllabus 2018

Members of the Board

Director:

Peter L. Schnall, MD, MPH

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Associate Director:

Marnie Dobson, PhD

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Members of the Board:

Marianne Brown MPH, is a leader in the urban agriculture movement within the Los Angeles public school system. Marianne lectured for 20 years at the UCLA School of Public Health, teaching Master’s courses in health education.

Barry Ensminger JD, is Vice President, External Affairs at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. Prior to joining Maimonides, Barry served as Executive Director of Planned Parenthood of New York City.

Donald Goldmacher MD, is a partner at Connecting the Dots Productions, a social issue documentary company and President of PsychComp Associates. Donald received his MD in Psychiatry from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

Viviola Gómez Ortiz PhD, is Associate Professor at Universidad de los Andes. Viviola is a Psychologist whose research focuses on psychology and health, stress-related issues, especially labor and work-family relations and their impact on health.

Jill Markowitz MPH, is a consultant in New York City who assists health and human service providers achieve their goals through organizational change focusing on the diverse perspectives of clients, management, staff, and communities to create conditions for effective and sustainable programs and services.

Ellen Rosskam, PHD, MPH, is a former Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, is Adjunct Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Work Environment Department, and Visiting Senior Fellow at the University of Surrey, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

Sherry Schnall is one of the original founders of the Center for Social Epidemiology. Her dedication to supporting the center has been invaluable to our efforts.

Joan Velazquez Esq, is an accomplished attorney educated at the University of Southern California Law Center and is a partner at the law firm Ervin, Cohen & Jessup LLP located in Los Angeles.

NIOSH Interviews CSE Filmmakers

Below is an excerpt from our interview. The NIOSH Total Worker Health newsletter reaches 70,000+ individuals across the country and abroad. To read the entire interview, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/twh/newsletter/twhnewsv6n3.html#2

Why did you decide to create Working on Empty?

Many people have been researching the impact of work on health for decades. A substantial body of literature shows that working conditions impact the mental and physical well-being of workers. Work plays a major role in burnout, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

We believe that the public, in general, doesn’t understand well the relationship between work and health. There is a belief that stress is good because it helps you work harder and be more productive. However, if we are chronically stressed from work—e.g. because of feeling threatened by job insecurity, being unclear about the criteria for performance evaluations, not having enough control at work, etc. —it leads to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and other illnesses.

One intent in making the film is to point out that stress related to work and poor working conditions is not inevitable. The poor health outcomes that we just described are partly the consequence of the way work is organized. They are preventable, and we need to do something to prevent them. Companies feel a constant pressure to increase productivity, some by going “lean” and, as a result, people are working harder and longer. We believe that many businesses don’t understand the consequences when they increase work demands. It results in worse health and more disability claims, absenteeism, sick days, and presenteeism. Productivity goes down when work hours exceed 40 hours per week. If companies knew more about these costs, they could rethink how they manage work, avoid situations with excessive demands, and increase engagement.

NIOSH Total Worker Health Exclusive Interview with WOE Filmmakers

Below is an excerpt from our interview. The NIOSH Total Worker Health newsletter reaches 70,000+ individuals across the country and abroad. To read the entire interview, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/twh/newsletter/twhnewsv6n3.html#2

Why did you decide to create Working on Empty?

Many people have been researching the impact of work on health for decades. A substantial body of literature shows that working conditions impact the mental and physical well-being of workers. Work plays a major role in burnout, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

We believe that the public, in general, doesn’t understand well the relationship between work and health. There is a belief that stress is good because it helps you work harder and be more productive. However, if we are chronically stressed from work—e.g. because of feeling threatened by job insecurity, being unclear about the criteria for performance evaluations, not having enough control at work, etc. —it leads to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and other illnesses.

One intent in making the film is to point out that stress related to work and poor working conditions is not inevitable. The poor health outcomes that we just described are partly the consequence of the way work is organized. They are preventable, and we need to do something to prevent them. Companies feel a constant pressure to increase productivity, some by going “lean” and, as a result, people are working harder and longer. We believe that many businesses don’t understand the consequences when they increase work demands. It results in worse health and more disability claims, absenteeism, sick days, and presenteeism. Productivity goes down when work hours exceed 40 hours per week. If companies knew more about these costs, they could rethink how they manage work, avoid situations with excessive demands, and increase engagement.

Statistics to Know

For more information on the CSE’s new documentary film visit:

http://workingonempty.org/

12th International Conference on Occupational Stress and Health—“Work, Stress, and Health 2017: Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities” – Minneapolis, MN – June 7-10, 2017

Planning for the 12th International Conference on Occupational Stress and Health—“Work, Stress, and Health 2017: Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities”—is already underway. The event will take place June 7-10, 2017 in Minneapolis, MN.

More details, including the official call for papers, will soon be available at www.apa.org/wsh.

6th ICOH-WOPS Congress (WOPS 2017) “For dignified and psychosocially healthy work” – Mexico City, MX – August 29 to September 1, 2017

The Sixth ICOH-WOPS Congress (WOPS 2017) will be held in Mexico City from August 29 to September 1, 2017, under the auspices of the National Autonomous University of México (UNAM), the Autonomous University of Morelos State (UAEM), the Mexican Institute of Social Security, and the collaboration of different academic and government organizations.

Introduction

The Scientific Committee on “Work Organization and Psychosocial Factors” (ICOH-WOPS) has so far convened five successful congresses in various parts of the world. On this occasion, for the first time, the WOPS congress will be held in Latin America.

The Sixth ICOH-WOPS Congress (WOPS 2017) will be held in Mexico City from August 29 to September 1, 2017, under the auspices of the National Autonomous University of México (UNAM), the Autonomous University of Morelos State (UAEM), the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), and the collaboration of different academic and government organizations.

The conference theme is “For dignified and psychosocially healthy work” as this is a goal to achieve in most countries because of deteriorated working conditions due to the negative impacts of a globalized economy.

There is a need to analyze and determine how the study of psychosocial factors can support the development of healthy and dignified work. It is also advisable to think and consider: How far have we come in understanding the mechanisms by which psychosocial factors affect the health of workers?; Are the methods and models developed appropriate to the reality of all countries including developing countries?; What is the status of the transfer of knowledge on psychosocial factors between the various regions of the world?  More than ever in these times there is a priority to analyze the role of situations such as inequality and job insecurity in considering psychosocial factors at work. Finally, we should ask; What is the impact of our scientific work and in which sectors or types of organizations is it more necessary to interve?

The program will include lectures by prestigious academics, professionals, roundtables, symposiums and forums with industry representatives, government agencies and national and international nongovernmental organizations.

Website: http://condor.zaragoza.unam.mx/wops/

7th ICOH International Conference on Work Environment and Cardiovascular Diseases – Varese, Italy – May 3-5, 2017

The 7th ICOH International Conference on Work Environment and Cardiovascular Diseases. Bridging the gap between knowledge and preventive interventions at the workplace to reduce cardiovascular diseases. May 3-5, 2017. Varese, Italy

The ICOH Scientific Committee on Cardiology (SCC) in Occupational Health is a committee of researchers, cardiologists, occupational health physicians and public health workers throughout the world concerned about the impact of work and work-related factors on cardiovascular health. The SCC works to link economic globalization to the changing nature of work and its impact on the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and focuses on research, worksite interventions, and public health. The mission is to identify work-related risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, including both the physical and psychosocial work environment, examine the interplay of social class, work and health, to assist in the development of interventions to reduce the burden of unhealthy jobs, and to support public policies that improve working conditions both locally and globally.

The 7th ICOH International Conference on Work Environment and Cardiovascular Diseases will be held in Varese, and it follows the previous and highly successful International ICOH conferences, held in Tokyo in 2013, Cracow 2009, Newport Beach in 2005, Dusseldorf 2002, Tel Aviv 1998 and Copenhagen in 1994. This is a special occasion to celebrate the over 30th year of this initiative. The Conference will focus on new scientific evidences and state-of-theart reviews addressing: the identification of work-related risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, related to the physical, chemical and psychosocial work environment; the interplay of social class, work and health; the highlight of effective workplace intervention programs for the prevention of CVD as well as for a safe return-to-work after cardiovascular events; the development of supporting public policies that improve working conditions both locally and
globally. The Conference will then be an excellent opportunity to exchange scientific
evidences and good practices, among occupational physicians, epidemiologists,
cardiologists involved in CVD prevention and rehabilitation, psychologists, sociologists, and policy makers.

The scientific program will be based on keynotes, oral and poster presentations, symposia, and workshops. A special emphasis will be placed on prevention of cardiovascular diseases among working people covering clinical, psychosocial, organizational and social policy approaches. Many are the topics the Conferences wishes to address. So far, among keynotes it is worth to mention: Robert Karasek will report on the JCQ-2 and its utility to investigate job strain and its effects on health in the new economy; Johannes Siegrist will present the new book on “Work Stress and Health in a Globalized Economy”; Nico Dragano and Mika Kivimaki will present new results from the IPD Consortium on the independent and additive effects of ERI and JDC in the prediction of CHD; Tage S Kristensen will review his 30-year experience on workplace interventions and the reduction of CVD risk. Hynek Pikhart and Marco M Ferrario will report on new results on ERI/JCD and CVD/CHD mortality in Eastern European Cohorts and on methodological issues arising when exploring the
association between JCQ and CHD incidence, respectively; Akizumi Tsutsumi will review most recent findings on work environment and strokes; Peter Angerer will present evidences of short-term and long-term effects of work stress interventions; and Andreas Holtermann on the long term effects on CVD risk factors of a worksite RCT aerobic exercise intervention. Other keynotes are foreseen.

Other keynotes are foreseen.

Selected papers and accepted abstracts will be included in the Conference proceedings,
which will be published in a dedicated supplement of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention. It will be a unique opportunity to update our colleagues involved in CVD prevention about the relevance of work related issues, for improving the quality of life of their patients.

There will be pre-Conference workshops, organized by international specialists and opened to a limited number of attendees. For the time being, the first workshop scheduled is Occupational Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Disease: Research Updates and International Collaboration, proposed by Niklas Krause; Andreas Holtermann and Els Clays.

For further information and to register please visit the Conference website at: http://www.icoh-cvd2017varese.it/

Marco M Ferrario, MD
Professor of Occupational Medicine, University of Insubria at Varese
Conference Chair

3rd Congress of the Americas on Psychosocial Factors, Health Mental and Work – Fortaleza, Brazil – October 18-21, 2016

Announcement: The 3rd Congress of the Americas on Psychosocial Factors, Health Mental and Work will be held in Fortaleza, Brazil from October 18th to the 21st, 2016.

More details for this conference will be posted shortly on the RIFAPT website.

International Conference on Sustainable Employability – Building Bridges between Science and Practice – Brussels, Belgium – Sept 14-16, 2016

14-16 September 2016 – Brussels, Belgium International Conference on Sustainable Employability – Building Bridges between Science and Practice Organized by:

International Conference on Sustainable Employability – Building Bridges between Science and Practice Organized by:

Organized by: Securex, Ghent University, Université catholique de Louvain, ICOH Scientific Committee “Aging and Work”

Organized by SC: Aging and Work

Topics: The conference aims to bring together scientists and professionals of all disciplines involved in sustainable employability by offering a platform to exchange scientific knowledge and practical know-how.

Topics covered are socio-demographic analysis, including age and/or generational analysis workability throughout the life course, including active ageing policies health promotion at work psychosocial and organizational factors at work workplace social capital leadership prevention of and managing workers with chronic musculoskeletal disorders prevention of and managing workers with mental disorders sickness absence and return to work stereotypes and diversity management job crafting talent management, career management new forms of work organization, including working time arrangements and spatiotemporal flexibility mobility issues, including international mobility

Contact Information

Address: Brouwerijstraat 1 9031 Drongen Belgium

Tel: +32 474 410 175

E-mail: philippe.kiss@securex.be

Website: http://www.incose.eu