Climate Change Impacts and Workforce Development Needs in Federal Region X: A Qualitative Study of Occupational Health and Safety Professionals’ Perceptions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baker MG ; Busch Isaksen TM ; Errett NA ; Pedersen KM ; Seixas, Noah S.
• Description:
  Climate change is considered one of the top health threats in the United States. This research sought to (1) to understand the perceptions of occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals regarding the impacts of climate-related hazards on OHS in Region X, and (2) to explore the ideas of these OHS professionals regarding the content of future training programs that would better prepare OHS professionals to identify and mitigate climate-related hazards in Region X. Key informant (KI) interviews with 17 OHS professionals familiar with the climate-related hazards and impacts to OHS in Region X were coded and thematically analyzed. Climate hazards, social and economic impacts from climate-related hazards, and sector-specific worker and workplace impacts from climate-related hazards were described as having interacting relationships that influenced worker health and safety impacts. KIs further described how workplace controls could be used to mitigate OHS impacts of climate-related hazards, and how training of the OHS workforce could influence the ability to successfully implement such controls. Our findings suggest that OHS impacts are sector-specific, influenced by social and economic factors, and can be mitigated through workplace controls designed and implemented by a trained OHS workforce. The findings from this work should inform future educational and training programming and additional research and translation activities in the region, while our approach can inform other regions as they develop regionally specific OHS climate change training and programming. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Climate Change Economics Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Occupational Health And Safety Climate-related Hazards Climate Change Climatic Conditions Economic Impact Education Hazard Identification Key Informant Interviews Occupational Safety And Health Pacific Northwest Sociological Factors Training

  More +
• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  18
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062038
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 Feb; 18(4):1513
• Contact Point Address:
  Nicole A. Errett, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
• Email:
  nerrett@uw.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a08cc988967738ec00c296b02e6d2d481c8eefe5746e8fbbbad2ee09d6edffa3e47ed0abcaf144daab60fbf091d1851ed91e429255d5fb355f4f286cc180b05e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225360/cdc_225360_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 310.41 KB ]