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Biomedical subjects

Karen Messing

Publications and source records attributed to Karen Messing.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Sex, gender and women's occupational health: the importance of considering mechanism.

A number of researchers have pointed out that less is known about occupational determinants of health in women than in men. The authors examine inventories of ongoing Canadian research and of recent scientific publications in order to identify trends in the approaches used to study women's occupational health (WOH). We also consider conceptual issues in the treatment of the sex and gender of subjects. We observe that women have been the subject of relatively few investigations of occupational health in the natural or biomedical sciences and that studies of WOH have concentrated on the health care professions and on psychosocial stressors, with a deficit in toxicological and physiological studies. We use recent studies of mercury exposure in chloralkali process plants and of musculoskeletal disorders among office workers to provide specific examples of problems in conceptualizing WOH. We propose that WOH be studied more often, especially by researchers in the natural and biomedical sciences, and that such studies include both women and men, where possible, and consider the complex relationships of gender and sex to the pathways involved. More interdisciplinary research would facilitate this process, since social researchers have tended to focus more on gender/sex issues. Our findings demonstrate that it is necessary to explore the implications of using sex routinely as an explanatory variable in occupational health research and to increase emphasis on the mechanisms involved in any sex or gender differences sought or found. From an equity perspective, it is also important to situate biological sex differences so as to prevent them from being used erroneously to justify job segregation or inequitable health promotion measures.

Canada↗
PubMed2005

Standing still: why North American workers are not insisting on seats despite known health benefits.

Prolonged standing is associated with health problems. Despite regulations providing for access to seats, most Québec (Canada) workers usually stand. Only one in six can sit at will. Standing service workers such as cashiers and sales personnel are often confined to a small area where sitting is theoretically feasible. In many other countries, such workers have access to seats. This study asks why North American workers do not press for seats. In a qualitative, exploratory approach, 30 young workers who usually work standing were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences of prolonged standing at work. All but one experienced discomfort associated with this posture, and two-thirds reported that they had changed their lifestyle in some way as a result of their symptoms. However, their accounts of relationships with employers, health care personnel, and the health and safety system suggest that many environmental factors as well as attitudes toward work, employers, health, and the body contribute to maintaining the status quo. Workers describe problems with the image of a seated worker and thought that asking for a seat would threaten their relationship with the employer. Personal comfort was considered an insufficient reason to challenge worksite design, attitudes, and organization.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Qualitative research using numbers: an approach developed in france and used to transform work in north america.

Qualitative research is often opposed to quantitative research. But numbers can play an important role in illustrating analyses in qualitative research. Their persuasive, concrete nature can help ensure the success of a workplace intervention, especially in the North American context, where numbers are treated very seriously. We describe a method of work analysis and transformation developed at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers in Paris, where the meaning of the numbers used is critical. We think that the numbers used in work analysis have a different meaning from that in a "pure" quantitative study, where they are submitted to statistical procedures for hypothesis testing. Using examples from recent studies carried out in Québec and Canada in collaboration with unions or joint health and safety committees, we show that counting can be part of qualitative analysis, enrich our portrait of organizational and physical aspects of the work process, and help indicate pathways for workplace improvement.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Physical exposures in work commonly done by women.

The North American work force is still highly sex-segregated, with most members of each sex in jobs composed primarily of workers of the same sex. This division is accentuated when jobs involve physical demands. Women have traditionally been assigned to tasks whose physical demands are considered to be light. Nevertheless, these tasks can have biological effects, sometimes serious. Phenomena related to physical demands of women's work can be considered in three categories: (a) musculoskeletal and cardiovascular demands of tasks often assigned to women in factories and service work; (b) sex- and gender-specific effects of toxic substances found in the workplace; and (c) interactions between work and the domestic responsibilities of many women. These phenomena are described, using examples recently gathered from workplaces. Effects of biological sex are distinguished, as far as possible, from effects of gender (social roles).

Anthropometry↗
PubMed2003

Be the fairest of them all: challenges and recommendations for the treatment of gender in occupational health research.

BACKGROUND: Both women's and men's occupational health problems merit scientific attention. Researchers need to consider the effect of gender on how occupational health issues are experienced, expressed, defined, and addressed. More serious consideration of gender-related factors will help identify risk factors for both women and men. METHODS: The authors, who come from a number of disciplines (ergonomics, epidemiology, public health, social medicine, community psychology, economics, sociology) pooled their critiques in order to arrive at the most common and significant problems faced by occupational health researchers who wish to consider gender appropriately. RESULTS: This paper describes some ways that gender can be and has been handled in studies of occupational health, as well as some of the consequences. The paper also suggests specific research practices that avoid errors. Obstacles to gender-sensitive practices are considered. CONCLUSIONS: Although gender-sensitive practices may be difficult to operationalize in some cases, they enrich the scientific quality of research and should lead to better data and ultimately to well-targeted prevention programs.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗
PubMed1995

Repetitive Strain in Nonrepetitive Work: A Case Study.

In a Québec factory, a woman in a nontraditional job suffered from epicondylitis whereas her male coworkers were unaffected. A study was undertaken in order to enumerate the operations at risk for epicondylitis. Workers were interviewed in order to identify difficult operations and systematic observations were done over 4 work days. Although tasks were extremely varied, certain movements at risk for epicondylitis were repeated many times. Fifty-three valves were turned against resistance as part of this job, and one valve requiring a particularly difficult movement was turned 20 times in one day. There were at least 61 operations at risk for epicondylitis per day over a 4-day period. Strain on the elbow joint was particularly intense for the woman worker because the design of the workplace gave an advantage to taller workers with larger hands. Although this case study does not permit us to conclude that the worker's epicondylitis was due to her job, it enables us to suggest that it would be wise to adapt the dimensions of relevant equipment and worksites to a wider range of potential worker sizes. We also raise some questions about the definition of repetitive strain in epidemiological studies. We suggest that it may be necessary to consider not only the cycle time but also the total of forces exerted on a joint in order to study workplace injuries to the musculoskeletal system.

case study↗