Occupational Asthmagens in Cleaners: A Focus Group Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Arif AA ; Delclos GL ; Hughes P ; Symanski, Elaine
• Description:
  Background: Despite being a large part of the workforce, cleaners remained a relatively understudied occupational group in the U.S. Methods: Twelve focus group sessions were conducted in Lubbock, TX, and Houston. TX. Participants were asked about their job tasks, type of products they use to clean, job training, and work environment. Results: A total of 99 domestic and industrial cleaners participated in the focus group sessions. Three general themes emerged regarding cleaning professionals' work experiences: a) job training; b) chemical exposure and use; and c) competence. Domestic cleaners demonstrated significant skills deficit among across each of these three themes as compared to industrial cleaners. Domestic cleaners reported more frequent exposure to respiratory irritants and sensitizers and also reported adverse respiratory symptoms as compared to industrial cleaners. Conclusions: This qualitative study suggests that domestic cleaners may be at increased risk of exposures that may have potential adverse respiratory health effects. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Chemistry Irritants Lung Men Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Chemical-properties Chemical-reactions Chemical-structure Cleaning-compounds Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Housekeeping-personnel Housekeeping-products Humans Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-infections Respiratory-system-disorders

  More +
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-67
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040348
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2012-105557
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R03-OH-008136, 2007 Sep; :1-67
• Contact Point Address:
  Ahmed A. Arif, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 920 I University City Blvd, CHHS Building 429, Charlotte, NC 28223
• Email:
  aarif@uncc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Performing Organization:
  Texas Tech University, Health Sciences Center
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20040901
• Source Full Name:
  Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20070630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6f3d158862ea38d7bc78d5ddc5648d31b9fc7a912836cb580af184f1853ab675400e152467ea25226d22a7718ac07d9c7be5606a12f37691a53e084f979c0654
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218456/cdc_218456_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 985.14 KB ]