Project Summary

The University of Miami Occupational Research Group is expanding their existing research on health disparities, disability, morbidity, and mortality for all US workers by examining these issues between and within the new NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Sector groups, and to explore the risks and benefits of work for US youth. The Research Group is using their existing Study Database derived from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), augmented by newly released NHIS data, and 2 new large representative databases of US youth, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth '79 (NLSY79) and National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health survey (Add Health). The augmented NHIS database from 1986-2007 of a representative sample of over 700,000 US workers allows the exploration of disability, morbidity and mortality differences between and within NORA Sectors and by occupation, as well as by various race ethnic subpopulations and socio-economic class. The NLSY79 is designed to document the transition (including health outcomes) from school to work and into adulthood, while the Add Health is a school-based, longitudinal study of the health-related behaviors of adolescents and their outcomes in young adulthood.

Based on their previous work, the Investigators are using sophisticated theoretical models to evaluate pathways of occupational risk and benefits, and morbidity and mortality between and within NORA Sector, by occupation and other subgroups. The use of these models allows the Investigators to assess the relationship between occupation, indicators of disability, morbidity and healthy/unhealthy behavior, and the risk of mortality, testing whether or not the mortality risks noted in worker subgroups are mediated by morbidity and health behavior. In addition, the Investigators are using the new NLSY79 and Add Health data to explore the economic consequences of work, particularly among working and non-working youth. Finally, working with a youth worker consultant, the Investigators will create and disseminate the research results appropriately targeted at youth workers, enhance the Study Website (www.UMiamiORG.com) with expansion of the outreach technology (including podcasts) to make more appealing to youth workers, and seek collaborators and funding for a future Conference on the Health of the US Youth Worker.

This study proposal not only applies surveillance and economic methods to explore the costs, health disparities, morbidity, and mortality between and within the new NIOSH NORA sectors, but it evaluates and disseminates information concerning the short and long term health risks, benefits and costs of work for US youth workers.