Manuel A. Ocasio

Worker Populations at Risk for Work-related Injuries across the Life Course

BACKGROUND Workplace injuries can have a substantial economic impact. Rates of workplace injuries differ across age groups, yet occupations/industry sectors at highest risk within age groups have not been identified. We examined workplace injury risk across industry sectors for three age groups using nationally representative U.S. data. METHODS Data from 1997 to 2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were pooled for employed adults by age groups: (1) 18-25 (n = 22,261); (2) 26-54 (n = 121,559); and (3) 55+ (n = 24,851). Workplace injury risk comparisons were made using logistic regression, with the Services sector as the referent and adjustment for sample design, gender, education, race/ethnicity, age, and income-to-poverty ratio. RESULTS Overall 3-month injury prevalence was 0.88%. Highest risk sectors for workers aged 18-25 included: Agriculture/forestry/fisheries (odds ratio = 4.80; 95% confidence interval 2.23-10.32), Healthcare/social assistance (2.71; 1.50-4.91), Construction (2.66; 1.56-4.53), Manufacturing (2.66; 1.54-4.61); for workers 26-54: Construction (2.30; 1.76-3.0), Agriculture/forestry/fisheries (1.91; 1.16-3.15), and Manufacturing (1.58; 1.28-1.96); for workers 55+: Agriculture/forestry/fisheries (3.01; 1.16-7.81), Transportation/communication/other public utilities (2.55; 1.44-4.49), and Construction (2.25; 1.09-4.67). CONCLUSIONS Agriculture/forestry/fisheries and Construction were among the sectors with highest workplace injury risk for workers across all age groups. Differences in highest risk industries were identified between the youngest and oldest industry groups. Our results indicate a need for age-specific interventions in some industries, and a need for more comprehensive measures in others.

Working with Cancer: Health and Disability Disparities among Employed Cancer Survivors in the U.S.

INTRODUCTION Approximately 40% of Americans annually diagnosed with cancer are working-age adults. Using a nationally representative database, we characterized differences in health status and occupation of working cancer survivors and persons without cancer. METHODS Cross-sectional data pooled from the 1997-2009 US National Health Interview Survey for adults with self-reported physician-diagnosed cancer (n=22,952) and those without (n=358,495), were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare the health and disability status of employed cancer survivors across occupational sectors relative to workers without a cancer history and unemployed cancer survivors. RESULTS Relative to workers with no cancer history, cancer survivors were more likely (OR; 95%CI) to be white-collar workers and less likely to be service workers. Working cancer survivors were significantly less likely than unemployed survivors, but more likely than workers with no cancer history, to report poor-fair health (0.25; 0.24-0.26) and (2.06; 1.96-2.17) respectively, and ≥ 2 functional limitations (0.37; 0.35-0.38) and (1.72; 1.64-1.80) respectively. Among employed cancer survivors, blue-collar workers reported worse health outcomes, yet they reported fewer workdays missed than white-collar workers. CONCLUSION Blue-collar cancer survivors are working with high levels of poor health and disability. These findings support the need for workplace accommodations for cancer survivors in all occupational sectors, especially blue-collar workers.

Dry eye medication use and expenditures: data from the medical expenditure panel survey 2001 to 2006.

Purpose: To study dry eye medication use and expenditures from 2001 to 2006 using a nationally representative sample of US adults. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed dry eye medication use and expenditures of participants of the 2001 to 2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationally representative subsample of the National Health Interview Survey. After adjusting for survey design and for inflation using the 2009 inflation index, data from 147 unique participants aged 18 years or older using the prescription medications Restasis and Blephamide were analyzed. The main outcome measures were dry eye medication use and expenditures from 2001 to 2006. Results: Dry eye medication use and expenditures increased between the years 2001 and 2006, with the mean expenditure per patient per year being

Trends in Glaucoma Medication Expenditure: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2001-2006

55 in 2001 to 2002 (n = 29),

Occupational vs. Industry Sector Classification of the US Workforce: Which approach is more strongly associated with worker health outcomes?

137 in 2003 to 2004 (n = 32), and

Parent-Centered Prevention of Risky Behaviors Among Hispanic Youths in Florida

299 in 2005 to 2006 (n = 86). This finding was strongly driven by the introduction of topical cyclosporine emulsion 0.05% (Restasis; Allergan, Irvine, CA). In analysis pooled over all survey years, demographic factors associated with dry eye medication expenditures included gender (female:

Racial Disparities in Quality-Adjusted Life-Years Associated With Diabetes and Visual Impairment

244 vs. male:

Influence of socio-demographic characteristics on eye care expenditure: Data from the medical expenditure panel survey 2007

122, P < 0.0001), ethnicity (non-Hispanic:

Combining Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) with a Random-Sample Survey to Assess Smoking Prevalence in an Under-Served Community

228 vs. Hispanic:

Sociodemographic Correlates of Eye Care Provider Visits in the 2006–2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey

106, P < 0.0001), and education (greater than high school: