Dear AJPM  reader,

The week of May 6th to 12th marks North American Occupational Health and Safety Week . The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there were almost 3 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses and just over 5,000 workplace-related deaths in 2016, indicating a clear need to implement more effective occupational safety policies and programs. Beyond injury prevention, the workplace also represents an ideal setting for health promotion and prevention efforts, ranging from immunization initiatives to obesity prevention programs to smoking cessation efforts. In recognition of the importance of worksite health and safety, AJPM is pleased to highlight the following articles: 

Nonfatal Injuries to Law Enforcement Officers: A Rise in Assaults . Tiesman HM, Gwilliam M, Konda S. Rojek J, Marsh S.
  • Assault-related injury rates in law enforcement officers increased between 2003 and 2014, while other work-related injury rates remained stable.
  • In non-shift working U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults, each additional hour of commute time is associated with 15 minutes of sleep loss on work days. 
Tdap Vaccination Among Healthcare Personnel—21 States, 2013 . O’Halloran AC, Lu PJ, Meyer SA, Williams WW, Schumacher PK, Sussell AL, et al.
  • Among all healthcare personnel, 47.2% were vaccinated for Tdap. This study examines variation in vaccination rates by job type, facility, age, education, income, health insurance, and location.


We hope you enjoy these and the many other prevention-related articles in our May issue .


Yours in prevention and health,


Matthew L. Boulton, MD, MPH
Editor-in-Chief

American Journal of Preventive Medicine