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Together, we can ensure that the conditions of work promote the
health and well-being of workers and communities.
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Incorporating Worksite Interventions in Safety and Health (IWISH)
Safety at work is an issue of power. Who gets to feel safe? Who gets to define what safety looks like?
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed long-existing inequities in work and working conditions, especially among essential workplaces. While some workers were able to work safer from home, frontline workers continued to work among the public with only limited protections against COVID-19. As infection rates rose, so did concerns over how to stay safe at work. These, combined with other societal pressures, led to higher rates of anxiety and depression among frontline workers than among those able to continue remotely.
Although workplaces instituted plexiglass shields, mask requirements, and social distancing rules to help reduce infection, these protections did not always seek employee input and feedback. Involving workers in the process is key to balancing power differentials and creating a true culture of safety. U-POWER investigators Drs. Lisa Gren and Jeremy Biggs are conducting a case study with five manufacturers in Utah to examine what it looks like when all stakeholders work together to address challenges from infectious respiratory disease threats. They will use community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles to engage workers, employers, and researchers together in developing sustainable and safe systems of protection.
Be sure to stay in touch with U-POWER via this newsletter and social media updates for updates from the IWISH study and our partners.
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Dr. Lisa Gren, co-PI of IWISH and co-Outreach Director of U-POWER. Learn more about Dr. Gren's research here. | |
Join us at the 3rd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health®! | |
The International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health® will bring together an audience of safety and health professionals, employers, researchers, policymakers, labor representatives, and members of the academic community. The Symposium, held October 11-14, 2022 at the NIH headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, will examine opportunities to make workplaces safer and improve the health and well-being of the global workforce.
NIOSH and the Center for Health, Work & Environment are seeking proposals for a variety of sessions, poster presentations, and pre-conference workshops emphasizing the latest in Total Worker Health science and practice. They are interested in gathering proposals from academics, practitioners, researchers, and students.
Proposals are due by February 4, 2022. Submit a proposal here.
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Upcoming Events from U-POWER | | |
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Learn more about Total Worker Health® at our second Seminar Series on February 17, 2022 at 4:00 pm (MST).
Total Worker Health (TWH) "seeks to improve the well-being of the U.S. workforce by protecting their safety and enhancing their health and productivity." We'll discuss what TWH looks like in research and practice, and ways to promote TWH in your lives and communities.
Join us at: https://utah.zoom.us/j/99090767758
Passcode: 755937
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Save the date for our 2022 Spring Conference!
Our 2022 spring conference will be held on April 28, 2022 at the Viridian Event Center in South Jordan from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm. This open house will gather together community members with U-POWER investigators to form connections, learn more about community needs, and share resources.
Interested in involving your organization or want to assist with input? Contact camie.schaefer@utah.edu.
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U-POWER Community of Practice | |
U-POWER Spotlight
Rachael Jones, PhD, CIH is the PI and Center Director of U-POWER. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Jones is an industrial hygienist and an internationally recognized expert in exposure science, particularly in the area of infectious diseases.
Why the focus on power?
"U-POWER explores how power is exercised through social, political, and legal structures to create and sustain unequal access to safe, healthy work. We know this inequity exists because some workers experience high burdens of work-related illness and injuries, and some cannot provide for their needs and the needs of their loved ones because of low wages."
Can you tell us about an experience with work inequity?
"The first time I experienced work inequity was when I was a teenager and working as a line cook. Eventually, I asked for a higher wage, and was told that not only could I not receive a raise, but that I was receiving a lower wage than the men who did the same job as me because I was a young woman, and the men were older and had families to support."
What do you think work equity looks like?
"To be equitable at work, I think that there needs to be transparency about work tasks, wages, and other aspects of work organization that relate to roles, responsibilities, opportunities, and benefits; as well as mechanisms by which workers can question these aspects of work without penalty. "
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"Community-based research is necessary to remove the various social, cultural, and logistical barriers that confound the well-intentioned efforts of many public health programs. . . such research has the simultaneous ability to empower communities worldwide through collaboration and partnership." | |
U-POWER's Community of Practice
Are you concerned about changing the conditions of work? Would you like to see Total Worker Health advanced? Consider joining U-POWER as an Affiliate Member.
Affiliate Members can be researchers conducting work on occupational safety and health, stakeholders from the community, employers, workers, scholars, students, or anyone interested in exploring issues of power at work.
At U-POWER, we believe in the importance of local, specialized knowledge and community engagement. We want to hear your stories, know your input, and share our resources. As we continue to build our center, we want to hear from members of our community. Please consider joining as an Affiliate Member today.
Affiliate members are asked to participate in at least one Center activity annually.
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Total Worker Health® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Participation by the Utah Center for Promotion of Work Equity Research (U-POWER) does not imply endorsement by HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.” | | | | |
