Rada K. Dagher, Ph.D, MPH, Scientific Program Director at National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities

Work is a social determinant that may explain a considerable amount of health disparities for race/ethnic minority and low socioeconomic status populations, in addition to other populations affected by health disparities. However, this complex construct with complex mechanisms and pathways has, to date, been under researched in the context of health disparities research. This talk will present the state of the science for research on work and health disparities, challenges in studying the construct of work as a social determinant of health, potential mechanisms and pathways through which work may contribute to health disparities, and opportunities for moving this field of research forward.

Bio: Dr. Rada Dagher is a Scientific Program Director at NIMHD. She manages a diverse portfolio of research, capacity building, and training grants, and is a project scientist on several cooperative agreement awards. Dr. Dagher is the program director for the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Fellowships as well as the Mentored Career Development Awards and represents NIMHD on multiple NIH-wide committees including NRMN/BUILD (National Research Mentoring Network/Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity). Prior to joining NIMHD, Dr. Dagher worked in academia where she conducted research in maternal and child health, mental health, occupational health, and health disparities. Her research focused on the determinants of postpartum depression and the impact of this disorder on healthcare use. She also studied the impact of employment policies and psychosocial work organization on workers’ mental and physical health, and gender and racial/ethnic disparities in mental health and mental health services. She has amassed numerous publications in prestigious journals. Dr. Dagher’s education in public health began at the American University of Beirut where she received both her BS in Environmental Health and MPH degrees. She then obtained a PhD in Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Dagher has earned numerous accolades including being inducted in the Delta Omega Honorary Society of Public Health and being selected for the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship. She also received the American Public Health Association’s Young Professional Award for her contributions and leadership in science, program, and policy relating to the health of women, children, and families.

Paul Spector, PhD, Emeritus Professor in the School of Information Systems and Management, and the Department of Psychology at the University of South Florida (USF)

Work is an essential part of most people’s lives that fulfills important needs. Many workplaces allow people to thrive both professionally and personally, but too many fail to create a safe environment that reduces health risks. In this presentation I will discuss the major risks to physical and psychological health, including injuries and illness due to unsafe working conditions, musculoskeletal issues due to repetitive strain, job stress, and workplace violence. The building of a physically and psychologically safe organizational climate to minimize unsafe conditions will be discussed.

Bio: Paul Spector is a distinguished emeritus professor in the School of Information Systems and Management, and the Department of Psychology at the University of South Florida (USF). He was a professor of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology at USF for 38 years and served as the I-O doctoral program director for 15 years. For 13 years he was director of the USF Occupational Health Psychology doctoral program, funded by NIOSH as part of the Sunshine Education and Research Center. His research on a variety of topics in occupational health psychology have appeared in major journals, including Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Occupational Health Science, and Work & Stress where he is an associate editor.    

Toni Alterman, PhD, Senior Research Epidemiologist, CDC, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

The presentation will focus on the relationships between supervisor trust, an important aspect of workplace the workplace environment, and  seven cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 (LS7)): smoking, obesity, low physical activity, poor diet, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Data are from the U.S. Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index (2010–2012), a nationally representative telephone survey of U.S. workers (n = 412,884).

Bio: Dr. Toni Alterman is a Senior Epidemiologist in the Division of Field Studies and Engineering at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Cincinnati, OH. She has both a masters and PhD in social psychology, with a minor in organizational behavior, and an MS in epidemiology, with an emphasis on psychiatric epidemiology. Prior to coming to NIOSH, 28 years ago, Dr. Alterman was on the faculty of the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health in Houston Texas. She first conducted research on cancer and cardiovascular disease epidemiology but moved on to focus on social and psychiatric epidemiology with an emphasis on mental health, work organization, workplace psychosocial factors, and recently, nonstandard work, particularly as it relates to gender, nativity and race or ethnic differences. She has been awarded several diversity awards and received funding to work on developing research and survey questions in collaboration with multiple federal agencies, National Agricultural Workers Survey with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA), a survey of farm managers with the United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA/NASS), research on truck drivers in collaboration with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, (FMCSA) and adding occupational health questions to the National Health Interview Survey, CDC National Center for Health Statistics (CDC, NCHS). She was a member of the American Public Health Association leadership team in epidemiology for 14 years and serves in an advisory capacity on multiple committees and workgroups.

Paul A. Landsbergis, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, State University of New York (SUNY)-Downstate Health Sciences University School of Public Health

This presentation will review trends (primarily from the U.S.) in employment conditions, systems of work organization, work characteristics, worker health and socioeconomic inequalities in health (that is, health differences by income, education or occupational status). In addition, prevention programs (interventions) to reduce socioeconomic health inequalities and improve worker health will be reviewed. These have typically been targeted to lower income workers and thus also reach workers of color and immigrants. Common types have been safety and health training, workplace participatory action research, collective bargaining and laws and regulations.

Bio: Dr. Landsbergis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, State University of New York (SUNY)-Downstate Health Sciences University School of Public Health. He received a PhD in Epidemiology from Columbia University and an EdD in Labor Studies from Rutgers University. Dr. Landsbergis has extensive research and teaching experience on social epidemiology, work organization, work stress, workplace interventions, lean production, socioeconomic health inequities, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders and psychological disorders. Dr. Landsbergis served as a member of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH’s) Intervention Effectiveness Research Team, and was a member of the National Research Council’s Committee on the Health and Safety Needs of Older Workers. He co-edited two books on work stress and health (The Workplace and Cardiovascular Disease, 2000; Unhealthy Work, 2009), is Deputy Editor of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, and has been a consultant to many labor unions.

Reyna Lopez (she/her), Executive Director at PCUN, Oregon’s Farmworker Union

Agricultural workers, and immigrant communities have been hit hard by the effects of COVID-19  - this is due to being categorized as essential workers, yet not having the protections and health supports in place to ensure they are healthy and safe. Reyna Lopez, PCUN's executive director, will talk to us about what the organization's membership base has been experiencing throughout the pandemic, and will address some of the challenges related to recent wildfires.

Bio: Reyna is a leader and proud daughter of immigrants from Mexico, who came to Oregon in the late 80’s following the migration of farm work in the Marion County area. She is currently the Executive Director of PCUN, which was started by farmworkers and is now Oregon’s longest standing Latinx led organization. Reyna grew up in Salem, Oregon and graduated from Willamette University with her BA in Political Science and Sociology. For over a decade, she has been a fierce leader and advocate for the Latinx community in Oregon, receiving the Immigrant Award from the American Association of Immigration Lawyers of Oregon, and Willamette University’s Young Alumni of the Year Award for her work in social justice causes, campaigns, movement and coalition building. Today, Reyna is also leading on national efforts as a member of the board of the Center for Popular Democracy, and the Secretary Treasurer of the Oregon Working Families Party.

Reyna’s passion for organizing and community is reflected throughout her career from her position as Civic Engagement Director at Causa, where she led the Yes on 88 Campaign, Oregon’s first bilingual-bicultural ballot measure campaign! She founded the organization’s New American Voter’s Project and worked tirelessly to win Tuition Equity – a fight that took over a decade – for Oregon’s Dreamer population. In recent years, Reyna was the Outreach Director at Our Oregon, where she managed the Fellowship Program and organization’s base building efforts for Oregon revenue reforms. And most recently, fighting for gender justice at Family Forward Oregon as the Organizing Director where she developed programs around Paid Family and Medical Leave, and nationally focused campaigns fighting back to protect the national budget from harmful cuts, and protecting safety net programs.