Occupational health hazards continue to contribute to disease, disability and premature death in Wisconsin. Every year Wisconsin averages more than 150,000 injuries in the workplace. The state health plan, Healthiest Wisconsin 2010 (HW 2010), recognizes the importance of providing healthy workplaces and outlines strategies to prevent these incidents from occurring. HW 2010 calls for expanding capacity of occupational surveillance as one strategy to meet the vision of """"""""healthy people in healthy places"""""""". The goal of this grant proposal is to enhance the existing Wisconsin occupational safety and health surveillance system already in place in the state. This will be done by adding new priority data collection areas to the existing occupational surveillance activities. We will also move forward by expanding communication networks and partnership opportunities through development of educational materials, presentations at conferences and presence at meetings. Another goal is to use the information collected to develop effective interventions. We have been successful in the past at sharing the information collected with others and enlisting their help in the development and dissemination of interventions. Last year our innovative mini-grant program for work-related asthma concluded. Three projects developed educational interventions about work-related asthma. One was directed at physicians, one directed toward employers, one directed toward employees and the general public. Another intervention funded through these mini-grants was the investigation of particulate matter in the dairy industry. This grant will enable the use of proven strategies to move the Wisconsin Occupational Health Program forward in expanding its capacity, capabilities, enhancing partnerships and implementation of interventions.
| Oguss, Madeline; Rogers, Pamela; Anderson, Henry (2010) Occupational respiratory health: a survey of Wisconsin workers who wear respirators. WMJ 109:130-5 |
