Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Zoloth

Publications and source records attributed to S Zoloth.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Impact of a joint labor-management ergonomics program on upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms among garment workers.

This study evaluated the effect of an ergonomics intervention program on the prevalence and intensity of symptoms of upper extremity work-related musculoskeletal disorders among 36 garment workers performing an operation called spooling. Adjustable chairs were introduced and workers were trained in their use. Symptom surveys were administered prior to and 6 months after introduction of adjustable chairs. Quantitative pre- and post-intervention measurement of joint position was performed utilizing videotapes among a subgroup of nineteen. Eighty nine percent of the cohort reported pain in either the neck or at least one upper extremity anatomic site prior to the adjustable chair intervention. Among subjects reporting pain at baseline, there were significantly decreased pain levels in 10 of 11 anatomic sites after the intervention. Among all subjects, the proportion reporting pain decreased for each anatomic site following the intervention, with statistically significant decreases in 3 sites. However, there were only modest declines in awkward posture among the videotaped subgroup. This study suggests that introduction of an ergonomics program focused on education and introduction of an adjustable chair may diminish musculoskeletal symptomatology in apparel manufacturing workers.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Human immunodeficiency virus infection care is unavailable to inmates on release from jail.

BACKGROUND: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seroprevalence in urban jails is higher than that in the general community. METHODS: We interviewed a cohort of HIV-infected inmates in a jail in New York, NY, during incarceration and after release to assess the accessibility of medical and social services. RESULTS Of the 170 inmates who were interviewed and released into the community, 40 (24%) came to a follow-up interview. Of the 40, 25 (62%) had not received an appointment with an infectious disease clinic by the time of the new interview. Only eight (27%) of the 32 who received zidovudine in jail obtained zidovudine; and only one of the 13 who received isoniazid prophylaxis in jail obtained isoniazid prophylaxis. Twenty (65%) had applied for but not yet received Medicaid. CONCLUSION: Inmates infected with HIV may encounter difficulties obtaining medical care and social services on release into the community, which can potentially lead to active infectious tuberculosis. Family physicians may encounter HIV-positive patients who are newly released from jail and who need follow-up medical care, and they must help address the needs of HIV-positive, formerly incarcerated people.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1992

Workshops are not enough: making Right-to-Know training lead to workplace change.

The underlying intent of Right-to-Know laws and regulations is to improve workplace conditions through worker empowerment. These regulations require employers to educate their employees about the nature and hazards of toxic substances found in the workplace, and methods to reduce exposure. This paper describes a Right-to-Know training program for over 4,000 local government employees which involved workers, their union, and management in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the program. A combination of quantitative and qualitative evaluation determined the program was successful at individual, group, and structural levels. The evaluation results suggest that Right-to-Know training programs can make an important contribution to improving workplace health and safety when they are a well-integrated component of a comprehensive safety and health program: they use participatory training methods, they are tailored to address specific conditions faced by the participants, and there is active labor-management collaboration.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1989

Compliance with isoniazid prophylaxis in jail.

The incidence of tuberculosis in New York City has risen dramatically in the last decade, an increase that has also been seen in the incarcerated population on Rikers Island, New York City's principal jail. We have investigated the establishment and maintenance of compliance with isoniazid prophylaxis in this population. Factors affecting compliance were studied in a sample of young men who were found to be tubercullin-reactive at the time of their incarceration. Compliance was quantified by determining the number of doses taken divided by the total number of available doses. Mean compliance for the 74 subjects was 37.5%. Two factors were important determinants of compliance: (1) the building where the inmate was incarcerated and (2) his knowledge of tuberculoses and the isoniazed regimen. The influence of the housing unit on compliance suggests that administrative responses to prison overcrowding, an increasingly prevalent condition in the nation's jails and prisons, may have an unintended and detrimental effect on medical care and public health.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Asbestos disease in sheet metal workers: proportional mortality update.

This paper, updating the findings of an earlier study, provides additional evidence that sheet metal workers in the construction trades are at increased risk for asbestos-related disease. A proportional analysis of cause of death among 331 New York sheet metal workers found a significantly elevated PMR for lung cancer (PMR = 186). In addition, there were six deaths attributable to mesothelioma (three classified as lung cancer deaths) and three death certificates mentioned asbestosis or pulmonary fibrosis, although none of these three deaths were attributed to these diseases.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1987

Asbestos disease in sheet metal workers: II. Radiologic signs of asbestosis among active workers.

A review of chest x-rays of 707 currently employed New York metropolitan area sheet metal workers found that 29.3% of the workers with 20 years or more of union membership (a surrogate for years of exposure) had radiologic abnormalities characteristic of parenchymal and/or pleural asbestosis, with 18.6% having abnormalities characteristic of parenchymal asbestosis (International Labor Organization [ILO] classification 1/0 or higher) and 17.4% of pleural asbestosis. The prevalence of abnormalities characteristic of either parenchymal and/or pleural asbestosis in the group as a whole was 16.4%, with 10.9% exhibiting signs of parenchymal asbestosis and 9.2% of pleural asbestosis. There was a strong, statistically significant relationship between years in the trade and the prevalence of radiologic abnormalities. These findings underscore the need for medical surveillance of all asbestos-exposed construction workers, including retirees and workers who have had past exposure but who are no longer exposed.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Exposure of sheet-metal workers to asbestos during the construction and renovation of commercial buildings in New York City. A case study in social medicine.

New York City sheet-metal workers have a history of significant exposure to asbestos. Prior to 1972 when the use of sprayed asbestos insulation was banned in New York City, sheet-metal workers involved in building construction were exposed as they worked adjacent to spraying operations. Subsequent to that date, exposure continued as they renovated these same buildings. In 1982 the Occupational Health Program of Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine initiated a multidimensional asbestos evaluation and intervention program for the sheet-metal industry and union in New York. The long-term goal of the program was to eliminate asbestos exposure through the safe, systematic removal of asbestos in New York City buildings, most likely a legislated solution. In the short term, we attempted to assess and reduce asbestos exposure in the sheet-metal trade by a series of steps consisting of: mortality and morbidity studies; a medical audit of clinical screening services provided to sheet-metal workers; a comprehensive health education program; development of safe work practices; evaluation of personal protective equipment; and investigation into and support of legislative and regulatory solutions to the problem of asbestos contamination of commercial buildings. This intervention can be seen as a case study in the practice of social medicine.

Asbestos↗
PubMed1986

Asbestos disease screening by non-specialists: results of an evaluation.

We performed a medical audit of an asbestos disease screening program offered to New York City sheet metal workers by a corporate medical service. The screening program purported to evaluate the health status of workers exposed to asbestos in the past and present during construction and renovation of commercial buildings. Using current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations as a benchmark, medical records for more than 800 workers who took the examination between 1982-83 were reviewed; x-ray interpretations of the staff radiologist were compared with the interpretations of specialists in occupational lung diseases. The audit found inadequate record-keeping procedures, a lack of a comprehensive occupational history, poor notification and absence of any form of health education. Further, there was an extreme lack of concordance between the staff radiologist and the specialist readers in the interpretation of x-rays (kappa = .14 for pleural disease and .26 for asbestosis). To an increasing extent, occupational clinical services are being provided by corporate medical groups; such groups may not be familiar with occupational health problems.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Asbestos disease in sheet metal workers: the results of a proportional mortality analysis.

The results of a proportional mortality analysis of a cohort of sheet metal workers who have only intermittent exposure to asbestos demonstrates a significant excess of cancer at the three sites most frequently associated with asbestos: lung, colon and rectum, and the mesothelium. No excess nonmalignant respiratory disease was detected. These data strongly suggest that significant asbestos-related disease is present in populations with secondary exposure to asbestos and emphasize the importance of considering possible asbestos-related disease when treating patients with a history of employment in the construction industry.

Aged↗
PubMed1979

Monkey vocalizations and human speech: parallels in perception?

Primate vocal repertoires may be classified along a continuum of discrete vs. graded signals, with the placement of a particular repertoire a result of the interplay between the species' social organization and adaptive specializations of individual signals engendered by the physical environment and their use. Discussion of the different types of graded signals reveals that they may possess either transitional, ontogenetic, or internal variability. Upon examination, the speech of humans is found to contain primarily internally graded signals, and it is suggested that the major phenomena of human speech perception are related to this internally graded quality. Based on this analysis of human speech, it is proposed that other species possessing internal gradings (e.g., Japanese macaques) are also likely to demonstrate similar perceptual phenomena for their own graded vocalizations.

Animals↗