Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper
Healthy People 2030 Impact Paper
Workplace (occupational injury) is the occurrence of harm, disease, or fatality that emanates from an individual’s place of work. In most instances, occupational-related injuries are unexpected or unplanned and may include acts of harassment, violence, or assault arising from work that harms workers as a result of personal injuries, illnesses, or death. In every situation occupational injuries are harmful to individuals, families, and organizations since it may lead to injuries, loss of productive time and may also cause death. Occupational injuries may be temporary or permanent. In temporary injuries, workers are able to return to work after their injuries or illness are healed. However, for permanent injuries, the workers are incapacitated and are unable to return to work again and their quality of life is greatly affected (Ghahramani, 2022). Healthy People 2030 (HP 2030) focuses on evaluating the extent of occupational injuries and the interventions that can be used in helping prevent these occurrences. Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper
Background and significance of the problem
According to Happy People 2030 over 160 million persons in the United States are in the labor force. The level of work is directly connected with the people’s intrinsic health and safety. After years of public health research and surveillance, it is evident that job-related injuries pose both economic and human effects to communities, workers, and employers (Healthy People 2020, 2023). The work environment is diverse in nature with regard to design, size, sector, culture, processes, resources, and location. Additionally, the employees also have different demographics including age, educational levels, training, gender, health practices, access to healthcare, and cultural backgrounds (Healthy People 2020, 2023). This means that every industry is made of diverse aspects that require properly identified and tailored interventions.
HP 2030 Objectives
According to Healthy People 2030 one of the major objectives was to reduce deaths from work-related injuries between 2017 and 2020. In the beginning, there were an estimated 3.4 work-related fatalities in every 100000 permanent workers (Healthy People 2020, 2023). Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper The target of this objective was to reduce the fatalities to 2.9 deaths per 100000 persons which was achieved. The target method used in this objective towards tracking changes included the use of trend lines and historical data points (Healthy People 2020, 2023). The major objectives towards occupation safety and health incidences preventing injury, and disease as a result of working conditions (Delp et al., 2021). Healthy People 2030 develop six major objectives around this topic aiming at reducing workplace health and safety issues such as fatalities due to injuries. Other objectives included reducing injuries coming from missed work, assault, pneumoconiosis deaths, hearing loss, and skin disease (Healthy People 2020, 2023).
Demographic and Related Epidemiological Data
In California there were an estimated 462 fatal injuries arising from work in 2021 while in 2020 the work-related fatalities were 463. The highest number of fatalities related to work was in 1993 with about 657 deaths while the lowest number of fatalities from work-related injuries was in 2010 with an estimated 326 deaths (Wizner, 2023). Nationally there were approximately 5,190 deaths related to work in 2021 which was a 9% rise from 2020 (Delp et al., 2021). The transportation industry reported the highest incidents of injuries and deaths with about 142 deaths while environments and harmful substances caused 103 deaths. Nationally the transport sector accounted for about 38% of occupational-related deaths while other occupational injuries such as slips, falls, and trips were second with 16%. Across California, the private construction firms had the biggest numbers of deaths with 79% where falls, trips and slips accounted for 33% of these deaths. Mean were the most affected by occupational injuries which includes 92% in California and nationally men accounted for 91% (Wizner, 2023). Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper The Hispanics and Latinos made the highest numbers of racial incidents due to work-related deaths at 51% while these racial groups accented for about 22%. Middle-aged adult workers were the most affected by workplace injury cases about 57% of deaths in California which equaled the national rate (Delp et al., 2021). Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper
Characteristics of at-risk populations using HP2030
According to Healthy People 2030, there have been improvements in workplace safety over the last decade but still many cases of injuries and fatalities are being reported. The major focus of healthy people 2030 is to alleviate occupational-rated injuries, diseases, and deaths by ensuring the workplace is safe. This is because, adults, spend their time at work which means that their work settings have a huge effect on their healthy life. For instance, most individuals suffer from skin conditions, hearing loss, or lung issues due to long-term exposures at work. Additionally, other workers are at risk of being assaulted or experiencing falls while at work. Some important efforts being put in place to help reduce the incidents include enhancing construction site safety (Healthy People 2020, 2023). Also, employers can greatly improve the workplaces by putting in measures such as banning smoking at workplaces and improving employee health programs. Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper
Challenges
Addressing occupational health and safety comes with huge challenges including the fact that the current workplaces are rapidly changing as work in the modern era begin to transition from manufacturing related to service industries. In addition, there are the challenges of the diverse workforce across the United States including changes in the demographics. This is because some employees are at higher risk of suffering from occupational injuries than others. For example, ethnic minorities, younger and older workers, immigrants, workers with disabilities and workers with genetic susceptibility continue to emerge. Additionally, changes are being experienced along the way work is organized. For instance, today there are longer working hours, sift work, compressed job weeks, temporary and part-time work, and a lack of job security marks the modern workplaces. Also, there are emerging new materials, chemicals, equipment, and processes that are emerging and accelerating the pace of work (Healthy People 2020, 2023). The combination of these incidents and factors is a contributing cause of the increasing occupational injuries and fatalities across the United States. Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper
Interventions
Millions of people suffer from injuries and deaths in their workplaces across the United States. These injuries are however preventable using easy strategies and which can help save the company from huge financial losses due to compensations. For example, it is estimated that every 7 seconds, a worker is injured while at work. Work injuries affect employees, friends, families, and the employer. Companies must have ready precautions to put in place to deviating the adverse effects of occupational injuries (Varacallo, 2023). Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper
Falls and slips are common occupational injuries that occur when an individual slides and falls on the floor or from the machinery. This can hurt their head, and back, or cause their arms or legs to fracture. This type of injury can be prevented by cleaning any spills on the floor immediately. Also, the company must use the right signage to inform the workers of instances of wet floors. Also, areas with huge traffic such as on the stairs should be installed with handrails, and also employees should be informed about using non-slip soles and shoes (Healthy People 2020, 2023).
Straining is also an important workplace injury to public health. A strain occurs on the neck or the back when workers lift heavy loads and handle equipment without using proper handling methods. In such workplaces, the employees should be trained in using safety harnesses, lifting aids, and back braces when necessary. Further, workers must be trained about using smart lifting methods, and also education posters should be posted around the first to constantly remind the workers about better lifting strategies (Varacallo, 2023). Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper
Cuts re a common source of injuries at workplaces brought about by box cutters, sharp edges, and letter openers among others. Employees require proper education on ways to prevent cuts and how to keep the office tools and furniture in better condition towards preventing lacerations and hazardous edges (Healthy People 2020, 2023).
Collisions and crashes are also common causes of work-related injuries. Driving forklifts, work trucks and delivery vans can be at times the cause of accidents and injuries. The employer must ensure they perform proper background examination of the workers before hiring them and giving them responsibility for driving some of these machinery. Also, regular training and testing must be done using the firm’s equipment. Workers should also be advised on taking sufficient breaks and sleep to prevent causing road accidents (Healthy People 2020, 2023). Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper
Conclusion
California is ranked fourth in terms of the number of fatalities from occupational injuries. In addition, national data depicts increasing rates of occupational injuries. This calls for more intervention and education to workers in enhancing better-coping strategies. Also, Healthy People 2030 has devised goals, objectives, and interventions for overcoming the extensive issues of occupational injuries among male adults working in diverse settings and industries. With the solutions and projections from Happy People 2030, it is possible to eliminate most of the occupational injuries emanating from falls, cuts, strains, accidents, and slips. Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper
References
Delp, L., Cole, B., Lozano, G., & Riley, K. (2021). Worker Injuries in Southern California’s Warehousing Industry: How to Better Protect Workers in This Burgeoning Industry? New solutions: a journal of environmental and occupational health policy: NS, 31(2), 178–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/10482911211017445
Ghahramani, A., & Amirbahmani, A. (2022). A qualitative investigation to discover causes of occupational injuries and preventive countermeasures in manufacturing companies. Heliyon, 8(9), e10501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10501
Healthy People 2020. (2023). Occupational Safety and Health Workgroup. https://health.gov/healthypeople/about/workgroups/occupational-safety-and-health-workgroup
Varacallo M, Knoblauch DK. (2023). Occupational Injuries and Workers’ Compensation Management Strategies. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470372/
Wizner, K., Gaspar, F. W., Biggio, A., & Wiesner, S. (2021). Occupational injuries in California’s health care and social assistance industry, 2009 to 2018. Health science reports, 4(2), e306. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.306
Research Topic: Workplace (occupational injury) OR Unintentional Childhood Injury and Deaths
Identify your target population (for instance, age or other demographic, aggregate population); this must be in your city or state. (CALIFORNIA)
Discuss population-based health education interventions for your target population that is aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality for the problem. Be sure to review the research literature and HP2030 for interventions.
Identify how and what data for interventions is being tracked. Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper
In a four (4) page paper, address the following. Refer to rubric for expanded details related to grading expectations.
Identify the problem in the introduction section.
Provide an overview of the problem in your state/national.
Review of descriptive epidemiological and demographic data on mortality/morbidity and risk.
HP2030: Present the goal, overview and objectives of Healthy People 2030 for the paper topic.
Population level prevention and health promotion review. Describe population and/or primary health care focused interventions. Use of scholarly literature and HP2030 is required. There should be direct correlation to evidence for all strategies. Healthy People 2030 Impact Assignment Paper