Health Equity

DEOHS MS student, Lilian Liu was awarded the UW Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies' 2021-22 Washington State Labor Research Grant for the study, "Assessing Stakeholder Engagement in Labor Policy: T

A robust interconnection exists between wasted food and food insecurity. Over a million tons of food waste are generated each year in Washington State, with approximately 390,000 tons of edible food being disposed (Washington State Department of Ecology, 2022). These contrasting issues are intricately linked, with the resolution of one concern holding the potential to alleviate the other.

The Healthy Air, Healthy Schools Project began in 2020 to better understand the impact ofportable air cleaners as an intervention in schools to reduce particulate matter of outdoor originand improve clean air equity. Populations who experience ethnic/racial and social disparitiesbear a disproportionate burden of air pollution exposure which should be considered when

As the Duwamish Valley community in Seattle, Washington and other environmental justice communities nationally contend with growing risks from climate change, there have been calls for a more community-centered approach to understanding impacts and priorities to inform resilience planning.

King County, Washington currently ranks 3rd in the nation for the number of people experiencing homelessness. Amid an affordability housing crisis, the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to grow in Seattle. People in historically redlined communities of Seattle disproportionately experience homelessness because of gentrification.

Purpose of the Study:

I led a project with the Woodland Park Zoo’s Senior Conservation Scientist, Dr. Lisa Dabek, and Director of the UW Center for One Health Research, Dr. Peter Rabinowitz.

The 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) named air pollution as the number one environmental threat to public health. Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is a sizable contributor to global air pollution, and diesel exhaust (DE) is a major source of TRAP (Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, 2018).

Introduction: Occupational exposure surveillance has historically been of limited focus in the United States (US). However, understanding the burden of occupational exposures is critical for the primary prevention of work-related injuries and illnesses.

Objective: This study investigates the role that union women’s committees have in reducing gendered psychosocial exposures and mental health outcomes among tradeswomen in the sheet metal industry.

Despite the Washington State Environmental Health Disparities Map and the Duwamish Valley Cumulative Health Impacts Analysis assessments being resources for communities to access environmental threats and social vulnerabilities, there is no single map that includes all factors associated with potential chemical mobilization and flood risks.

Staphylococcus aureus are both human commensal bacteria and potential pathogens. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) from coastal beach and river waters, anchialine pools, sand, and wastewater on the Island of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi.

Workers who come into contact with tuberculosis (TB) patients are at elevated risk of TB infection and disease. Tongue swabbing is an alternative diagnostic sample collection approach that was designed to mitigate this risk. This study assessed risk perceptions among healthcare workers (HCWs) using tongue swabs for TB diagnosis in South Africa during a respiratory virus pandemic.

Introduction: Gentrification is a public health crisis and significant environmental injustice. Rapid gentrification of Seattle unequally burdens and displaces families of color further south in King County. Gentrification changes the environment, forcing readjustments that can compromise the continuity of education, healthcare, housing and employment.

Dementia has been considered a major global public health priority (WHO, 2012). It is very common in older adults (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015b; Seshadri & Wolf, 2007; Weuve et al., 2014) and characterized by the progressive and irreversible loss of memory and mental abilities (Alzheimer’s Association, 2008).

Social, economic, political and technological trends over the past several decades have caused a number of adaptive changes in the labor market, including the fundamental transformation of the nature and organization of employment.

The goal for environmental justice is for everyone to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, work, play and worship. Community-academic partnerships have been effective in addressing environmental health disparities in various settings.

Since time immemorial, First Nations shaped the environment around them to create and maintain highly productive societies. Today with the growing threats of a changing climate and continued nearshore development, important traditional resources may not be available for future generations.

Background: Women are an underrepresented group in the construction trades; as such, they experience high levels of gendered stressors such as sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

Risk communication is an essential element to promoting disaster preparedness and building community resilience to disasters, which pose a serious and growing threat to public health and well-being due to climate change.

Precarious work, work that differs from the typical model of standard full-time, year-round employment, exposes its workers to adverse occupational health and safety outcomes such as increased occupational injury rates, higher hazardous exposures, and inadequate safety training and resources.