Occupational Respiratory Health: A Survey of Wisconsin Workers Who Wear Respirators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Anderson H ; Oguss M ; Rogers P
• Description:
  Context: Little is known about Wisconsin workers who wear respirators and the prevalence of work-related asthma (WRA) in that population. To understand this problem, we questioned workers who wear respirators. Objectives: The primary objective was to learn more about the health experiences of workers who wear respirators. A secondary objective was to evaluate the utility of the survey in WRA surveillance. Design: A survey was mailed to an opportunistic sample of workers who received medical evaluation for respirator fit testing. Participants: Surveys were sent to 1356 workers medically evaluated to wear a respirator; 192 surveys were completed and returned. Results: The majority of respondents were men who have been medically evaluated for respirator wear an average of 3 times during their career. Every time, most respirator medical evaluations used 3 evaluation tools: questionnaire, physical exam and breathing test. Thirtytwo percent of survey respondents had some asthma symptoms while at work in the last 30 days, and half reported discussing these symptoms with a physician. Lifetime prevalence of asthma as determined by this survey was 18%. Lifetime prevalence for WRA among this population was 3% (18% among those with asthma). Conclusions: This survey was an efficient and effective way to learn more about workers' respirator experiences and to determine the prevalence of asthma in this population. Few differences existed between those with asthma and those without. However, some differences were noted between those with asthma and those with WRA. Data also suggest that the respirator medical evaluation process provides an opportunity for health practitioners to discuss asthma and asthma prevention with workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Breathing Equipment-design Equipment-reliability Occupational-exposure Occupational-health Questionnaires Respirators Respiratory-equipment Respiratory-protection Respiratory-protective-equipment Statistical-analysis

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• ISSN:
  1098-1861
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 5 ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  130-135
• Volume:
  109
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037265
• Citation:
  WMJ 2010 Jun; 109(3):130-135
• Contact Point Address:
  Pamela Rogers, MPH, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health, 1 W Wilson St, PO Box 2659, Madison, WI 53701-2659
• Email:
  pamela.rogers@wisconsin.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Performing Organization:
  Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Wisconsin Medical Journal
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c985bc76b48d5b652556e7885e21ceb8a436ab825c0f1b71e70521f601a1979704f685ae20ddc11917da8f71de31a5f34d791da8080b5c091189e9610f73fc2f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188382/cdc_188382_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 241.97 KB ]