Syllabus

Schedule

Course Dates

Week 1: Jul 3 – Jul 10
Week 2: Jul 10 – Jul 17
Week 3: Jul 17 – Jul 24
Week 4: Jul 24 – Jul 31
Week 5: Jul 31 – Aug 7
Week 6: Aug 7 – Aug 14
Week 7: Aug 14 – Aug 21
Week 8: Aug 21 – Aug 25

The assignment/discussion descriptions mentioned below are summaries. Please make sure to review the full assignment prompts in Brightspace.  

Week 1: Introduction and History of Occupational Health

Learning Outcomes: 

• Analyze a workplace for potential hazards.

Learning Activities:

• Week 1 Acknowledgement of Academic Engagement Quiz

• Discussion: Introduce yourself. 

• Discussion: Choose site for the Final Project. 
• Week 1 Written Assignment
  • Analyze the workplace you chose in the discussion for hazards. Make sure to review the final project document, the site video (site video is located in the site write up document), and the provided site write up before completing this assignment. The purpose of this assignment is for you to begin to engage with the final project material. This will prepare you for Week 3, where you will be completing your Hazard Analysis Sheet.

Week 2: Hazards in the Workplace and Interventions

Learning Outcomes: 

• Identify potential occupational hazards from a case study.
• Propose interventions based upon identified occupational hazards. 
• Critically analyze a study on the effects of pesticides on the worker. 

Learning Activities:

• Discussion: Identify hazards presented in a case study and propose an intervention.
• Week 2 Written Assignment

  • This week you were exposed to different types of hazards in the workplace. One particular hazard mentioned was pesticides. Choose one of two articles and complete an article critique. Your critique must include:

    • An introduction: Include the title and author of the article, statement of the problem discussed, purpose, and hypothesis.
    • Research Methods: What approach or methods were used in this study? Are these appropriate for the purposes of the study?
    • Key Results: Clearly and succinctly summarize the key results of the study.
    • Statistical Significance: What is the statistical significance of this study? Are the statistical methods appropriate?
    • Sources of Bias: Was the author objective in the discussion of the topic? Identify and discuss any sources of bias in the study.
    • Engle, L., Checkoway, H., Keifer, M., et al. Parkinsonism and occupational exposure to pesticides.Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2001; 58(9):582-589. doi: 10.1136/oem.58.9.582.
    • Calvert, Geoffrey M, Jennifer Karnik, et al. Acute pesticide poisoning among agricultural workers in the United States.American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2008; 51:883-898.

Week 3: Hazard Analysis

Learning Outcomes: 

• Utilize a hazard identification form to identify hazards in the workplace. 
• Discuss how technology could help identify and fix potential workplace hazards. 

Learning Activities:

• Discussion: Discuss the hazards identified from the chosen site. How could Michael Lawrence’s lab be utilized in your hazard analysis?
• Week 3 Written Assignment
  • Watch your chosen site video again carefully, review the provided information, and complete the provided hazard analysis sheet. The comments/observations should indicate why certain items may be hazards or other items you noticed in the site video.

Week 4: Occupational Epidemiology

Learning Outcomes:

• Review how the state communicates the results of their data gathering to the public. 
• Compare how states gather and distribute data.

Learning Activities:

• Discussion: Review your data on the hazards you have identified and research how findings from that data are being communicated to the public. Describe the different strategies being employed in communicating to the different demographics that may be interested in this information. Explain why it is important to be mindful of the cultures to which healthcare information must be communicated.
• Week 4 Written Assignment
  • Before attempting this assignment make sure to review the interview with the Maine Bureau of Labor and Statistics. In this assignment you’ll be discussing the data in the interview and contrast it with your own state (or a different state if you are in Maine). 

Week 5: Psychosocial Stress in the Workplace

Learning Outcomes:

• Communicate physical and psychosocial hazards to an employer.
• Identify potential psychosocial strains in the workplace. 
• Propose interventions based upon identified occupational hazards.

Learning Activities:

• Discussion: Utilize the JCQ algorithm to create a matrix that shows the relationship between demand and control in the workplace from your chosen work site.
• Week 5 Written Assignment
  • Review the following hazard analyses for two different jobs. Succinctly summarize the job strain for each case. Then enter the state database for those jobs and determine their injury and illness incidence. Discuss how some of the illnesses and injuries may be tied to the identified job strain. Discuss the similarities and differences between the job strain in each case. 

Week 6: Work Related Injuries, Illness, and Diseases

Learning Outcomes: 

• Complete a Hazard Analysis Report to evaluate a workplace for potential hazards. 
• Complete a Hazard Analysis Report to propose potential interventions for identified hazards. 

Learning Activities:

• Discussion: Discuss how the Haddon Matrix could be used to prevent injuries in the workplace. 
• Final Project: Submit your complete Hazard Analysis Report.

Week 7: Occupational Health Policy and Regulation

Learning Outcomes: 

• Design and deliver a compelling presentation on potential occupational health hazards to employers or company owners.
• Communicate overview and recommendations to improve a specific work situation to a safety committee or company owner. 
• Communicate physical and psychosocial hazards to an employer.

Learning Activities:

• Discussion: Create a five (5) min presentation providing an overview of your chosen work site and your recommendations.
• Week 7 Written Assignment
  • What policies are available to help with the identified hazard? What historical developments lead to the creation of these policies? If none, what would you propose? Why would you propose these policies? Consider how workers’ comp insurance plays a role in the development of policies. 

Week 8: Ethical Implications of Interventions

Learning Outcomes: 

• Evaluate the cultural challenges to employee training.

Learning Activities:

• Week 8 Written Assignment
  • Changing behavior is difficult. Do you feel that a training program designed to teach ex-coal miners how to operate remote machinery to do the mining that they used to do by hand will be successful? Why or why not? What cultural elements may influence the success or failure of this venture? How would you structure this effort to address the barriers involved? Here is one take on how this might be done. Think about other industries where dangerous jobs were restructured (eg. the paper industry). What were the strategies used?

Student Resources

Policies