Impact of Environment on Pain among the Working Poor: Making Use of Random Forest-Based Stratification Tool to Study the Socioecology of Pain Interference.

Pain interferes with one's work and social life and, at a personal level, daily activities, mood, and sleep quality. However, little research has been conducted on pain interference and its socioecological determinants among the working poor. Noting the clinical/policy decision needs and the technical challenges of isolating the intricately interrelated socioecological factors' unique contributions to pain interference and quantifying the relative contributions of each factor in an interpretable manner to inform clinical and policy decision-making, we deployed a novel random forest algorithm to model and quantify the unique contribution of a diverse ensemble of environmental, sociodemographic, and clinical factors to pain interference. Our analyses revealed that features representing the internal built environment of the working poor, such as the size of the living space, air quality, access to light, architectural design conducive to social connection, and age of the building, were assigned greater statistical importance than other more commonly examined predisposing factors for pain interference, such as age, occupation, the severity and locations of pain, BMI, serum blood sugar, and blood pressure. The findings were discussed in the context of their benefit in informing community pain screening to target residential areas whose built environment contributed most to pain interference and informing the design of intervention programs to minimize pain interference among those who suffered from chronic pain and showed specific characteristics. The findings support the call for good architecture to provide the spirit and value of buildings in city development.

"Los Comedores de Patatas" de Vincent van Gogh, ejemplo visual de las carencias vitales durante la Revolución Industrial en Europa / "The Potato Eaters" by Vincent van Gogh, a Visual Example of Vital Shortages during the Industrial Revolution in Europe

El cuadro al óleo de Vincent van Gogh Los comedores de patatas tiene una riqueza expresiva única. Representa a su vez una de las preocupaciones del pintor y que no era otra que las malas condiciones de vida de la gente que habitaba en la escala más baja de la sociedad: los agricultores y el proletariado. Estampa visual que nos sirve perfectamente para entender la dureza de estas personas condenadas a mantenerse en la miseria más absoluta por la escasez retributiva de los responsables políticos durante la fase de afianzamiento de la Revolución industrial alemana y extensible a toda Europa. (AU)

Vincent van Gogh's oil painting The Potato Eaters has a unique expressive richness. In turn, it represents one of the painter's concerns and that was none other than the poor living conditions of the people who lived on the lowest scale of society: farmers and the proletariat. Visual print that perfectly serves us to understand the hardness of these people condemned to stabilize in the most absolute misery due to the scarcity of remuneration of political leaders during the consolidation phase of the German Industrial Revolution and extendable to all of Europe. (AU)

Poverty and population health - The need for A Paradigm shift to capture the working poor and better inform public health planning.

BACKGROUND: Community-level socioeconomic disparities have a significant impact on an individual's health and overall well-being. However, current estimates for poverty threshold, which are often used to assess community-level socioeconomic status, do not account for cost-of-living differences or geography variability. The goals of this study were to compare geographic county-level overlap and gaps in access to care for households within poverty and working poor designations. METHODS: Data were obtained for 21 continental United States (US) states from the United Way's Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) households for 2021. Raw data contained the percentage of households at the federal poverty level, the percentage of households at the ALICE designations (working poor), and the total households at the county level. Local Moran's I tests for spatial autocorrelation were performed to identify the clustering of poverty and ALICE households. These clusters were overlaid with a 30-min drive time from critical access hospitals' physical addresses. FINDINGS: County-level clusters of ALICE (working poor) households occurred in different areas than the clustering of poverty households. Of particular interest, the extent to which the 30-min drive time to critical care overlapped with clusters of ALICE or poverty changed depending on the state. Overall, clustering in ALICE and poverty overlapped with 30-min drive times to critical care between 46 and 90% of the time. However, the specific states where disparities in access to care were prominent differed between analyses focused on households in poverty versus the working poor. INTERPRETATIONS: Findings highlight a disparity in equitable inclusion of individuals across the spectrum of socioeconomic status. Furthermore, they suggest that current public health programming and benefits which support low socioeconomic populations may be missing a vulnerable sub-population of working families. Future studies are needed to better understand how to address the health disparities facing individuals who are above the poverty threshold but still struggle economically to meet based needs.

[Working poverty and self-rated health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparative study over time using 1995-2021 Socioeconomic Panel data]. / Erwerbsarmut und subjektive Gesundheit während der COVID-19-Pandemie: Eine Zeitvergleichsstudie mit Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels 1995­2021.

BACKGROUND: The working poor are considered a vulnerable group. This study examines whether health disparities between working-poor and non-working-poor workers have worsened in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic by comparing them over time with earlier periods of economic crisis and social and labor market policy reform. METHODS: The analyses are based on the Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP, 1995-2020) and the Special Survey on Socioeconomic Factors and Consequences of the Spread of Coronavirus in Germany (SOEP-CoV, 2020-2021). All employed persons aged 18-67 years were considered for the analyses to calculate the risks of poor subjective health due to working poverty using pooled logistic regression by sex. RESULTS: Subjective health improved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Differences in health between the working poor and those who were not working poor remained relatively constant between 1995 and 2021. Individuals who were more likely to be in working poverty over time had the highest risk of inadequate health. The health disparities associated with the frequency of working poverty increased over time and peaked for both sexes in the pandemic. Significant sex differences were not identified. DISCUSSION: This study illustrates the social embeddedness of working poverty as a determinant of poor health. In particular, those who were more likely to experience working poverty during their working lives are considered to be particularly vulnerable to inadequate health. Tendentially, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to reinforce this gradient in health.

Mental health status of informal waste workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh.

The deadliest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is taking thousands of lives worldwide and presents an extraordinary challenge to mental resilience. This study assesses mental health status during the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated factors among informal waste workers in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in June 2020 among 176 informal waste workers selected from nine municipalities and one city corporation in Bangladesh. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to assess respondents' mental health. The study found that 80.6% of the individuals were suffering from psychological distress; 67.6% reported anxiety and depression, 92.6% reported social dysfunction, and 19.9% reported loss of confidence. The likelihood of psychological distress (Risk ratio [RR]: 1.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.48) was significantly higher for female than male. Multiple COVID-19 symptoms of the family members (RR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.03-1.41), unawareness about COVID-19 infected neighbor (RR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.04-1.41), income reduction (RR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.06-2.41) and daily household meal reduction (RR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.03-1.73) were also found to be associated with psychological distress. These identified factors should be considered in policy-making and support programs for the informal waste workers to manage the pandemic situation as well as combating COVID-19 related psychological challenges.

Práticas alimentares de trabalhadores de um Restaurante Cidadão: fatores socioculturais e o ambiente de trabalho / Food practices of workers at a Citizen Restaurant: socio-cultural factors and the work environment

Resumo O estudo objetivou analisar como o ambiente do trabalho de um grupo de trabalhadores de baixa renda configura as práticas alimentares no meio urbano. Foram realizadas dez entrevistas com trabalhadores de uma empresa de prestação de serviços de alimentação para um Restaurante Cidadão. O comer fora de casa prevaleceu e o espaço do trabalho se mostrou como o principal para a realização das refeições. Identificou-se uma desestruturação das práticas alimentares, referente ao horário para realizar a refeição, ao tipo de comida e à divisão do almoço em dois momentos. Aproximadamente uma vez por mês, alguns trabalhadores se cotizavam para comprar ingredientes e elaborar uma preparação por eles mesmos escolhida. Era através da "comida feita por eles e para eles" que se criava uma relação ou se fortalecia a relação já existente. A discussão girou em torno de como determinado espaço social, entrelaçado por forças político-econômicas, necessidades biológicas e sistemas simbólicos, contribui na estruturação das práticas alimentares de determinado grupo social. O trabalho no contexto em que está inserido mostrou uma estreita relação com a modernidade alimentar, contribuindo na modificação da relação entre os seres humanos e sua rotina alimentar.

Abstract The study aimed at analyzing how the work environment of a group of low-income workers sets up eating practices in the urban environment. Ten in-depth interviews were held with workers from a food service company for the Restaurante Cidadão. Eating out was prevalent and the workspace proved to be the main place for meals. A disruption of historically and culturally consolidated eating practices were identified regarding the time and type of food. Once a month, some workers prepare a meal chosen and paid by them. It was through "food made by them and for them" that a relationship was created, or the existing relationship was strengthened. The discussion brings forward how a social space intertwined with political-economic forces, biological needs and symbolic systems structure the eating practices of a social group. The work showed a close relationship between man and his food routine.

Household pollution and COVID-19: irrelevant association?

Evidence supports the link between air pollution and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, exposure to indoor pollution (IDP) is likely to be associated with the disease. The poor, refugees, and migrant workers who live in feeble conditions are the most vulnerable. The pandemic has caused many people to remain indoors, especially at-risk individuals (e.g., the elderly, diabetics, obese, cardiac, and chronic lung disease patients). Home isolation may be an underlying factor to other health problems among these populations if the place where they are socially isolating is not adequately ventilated. Therefore, understanding the consequences of the relationship between IDP and the COVID-19 pandemic is essential.

Os operários, os negros, os cronistas e o futebol na imprensa de São Paulo (1930-1934) / Workers, black people, sports journalists and football in São Paulo press (1930-1934) / Los trabajadores, los negros, los cronistas y el fútbol en la prensa de São Paulo (1930-1934)

Resumo: Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar as disputas entre trabalhadores, negros e cronistas esportivos em relação à prática do futebol operário em um contexto de profissionalização do esporte na cidade de São Paulo no início da década de 1930. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa documental que teve como fontes jornais paulistanos. Concluímos que havia por parte dos cronistas esportivos uma série de críticas à prática do futebol operário e que a ascensão de alguns negros em clubes de elite era utilizada como argumento de integração racial.

Abstract: This study aimed to analyze the disputes between workers, black people, and sports journalists regarding the practice of working-class football within a context of professionalization in the city of São Paulo in the early 1930s. The sources were local newspapers. We concluded that there were several criticisms from the journalists about the practice of working-class football and that the ascent of some black players into elite clubs was used as an argument for racial integration.

Resumen: Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar las disputas entre trabajadores, negros y cronistas deportivos en lo que se refiere a la práctica del fútbol de los trabajadores en un contexto de profesionalización del deporte en la ciudad de São Paulo a principios de la década de 1930. Para ello, se realizó una investigación documental que tuvo como fuentes periódicos de São Paulo. Llegamos a la conclusión de que había, por parte de los cronistas deportivos, una serie de críticas a la práctica del fútbol de la clase obrera y que la incorporación de algunos negros en clubes de élite se utilizó como argumento de integración racial.

Fatores associados à vulnerabilidade da não adesão do distanciamento social de trabalhadores na COVID-19 / Factors Associated With the Vulnerability of Non-Adhrence to the Social Distancing of Workers in COVID-19

Objetivo: refletir sobre os fatores associado as vulnerabilidades de diferentes domínios como individual, social e programática de trabalhadores informais e os impactos da não adesão do distanciamento social nesse cenário de pandemia. Método: Estudo Reflexivo overview, que contou com o auxílio de publicações recentes relacionadas a esta proposta, sobretudo de pesquisas realizadas no Brasil e em outros países. Resultados: O estudo permitiu tecer reflexões sobre o impacto da pandemia nos trabalhadores informais associados vulnerabilidades e seus domínios Considerações finais: Esta reflexão pode contribuir para repensar a saúde e segurança e fomentar reflexões críticas acerca da desigualdade social no enfrentamento da pandemia.

Objective: to reflect on the factors associated with the vulnerabilities of different domains such as individual, social, and programmatic of informal workers and the impacts of non-adherence to social distancing in this pandemic scenario. Method: Reflective Study Overview, which had the help of recent publications related to this proposal, especially research conducted in Brazil and other countries. Results: The study allowed reflections on the impact of the pandemic on informal workers associated with vulnerabilities and their domains Final considerations: This reflection can contribute to rethink health and safety and foster critical reflections on social inequality in tackling the pandemic.

Workers' compensation and the working poor: Occupational health experience among low wage workers in federally qualified health centers.

BACKGROUND: The working poor are at highest risk of work-related injuries and have limited access to occupational health care. OBJECTIVES: To explore community health centers (CHCs) as a venue for accessing at risk workers; and to examine the experience, knowledge, and perceptions of workers' compensation (WC) among the working poor. METHODS: Key informant interviews were conducted among patients in waiting rooms of rural and urban CHCs. RESULT: Fifty-one interviews of minority workers across sectors identified 23 prior work-related injuries and mixed experiences with the WC system. Barriers to reporting and ways to overcome these barriers were elucidated. CONCLUSIONS: Patients in CHCs work in jobs that put them at risk for work-related injuries. CHCs are a good site for accessing at-risk workers. Improving occupational healthcare and appropriate billing of WC insurance should be explored, as should best practices for employers to communicate WC laws to low wage workers.

Working poor and working nonpoor cancer survivors: Work-related and employment disparities.

BACKGROUND: Many cancer survivors face challenges remaining at work during treatment or returning to work posttreatment. Workplace supports can ease the strain associated with managing the cancer-work interface. Limited research has examined the employment experiences of low-wage earning survivors, who are less likely to have access to workplace supports, overlooking a factor that may influence survivors' employment outcomes. AIMS: This study assessed differences in employment experiences between working poor (WP) and working nonpoor (WNP) cancer survivors in the United States. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data from the 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the 2011 MEPS Experiences with Cancer Survivorship Supplement were analyzed to evaluate differences in workplace supports, cancer-related psychological job distress, productivity, and employment outcomes between WP and WNP cancer survivors. The sample included adults diagnosed with cancer within 5 years prior to survey completion and engaged in paid employment since diagnosis. Working poor respondents had income below 200% of the poverty level. Chi-square tests assessed differences between WP (n = 57) and WNP (n = 164) cancer survivors' demographic, cancer, and employment characteristics; cancer-related psychological job distress; employee productivity; and employment outcome measures. Multiple logistic regression analyses determined the independent association between WP status and these same variables controlling for sociodemographic confounders. Working poor survivors were more likely to take unpaid time off, change from full-time to part-time, to report cancer-related psychological job distress, negative influences on job productivity and employment outcomes, and less likely to have health insurance. In logistic regression analyses, those who took unpaid time off were more likely to be WP; being WP was also associated with poorer employment outcomes, after controlling for sociodemographics differences between WP and WNP. CONCLUSION: Working poor survivors had fewer workplace supports and poorer employment outcomes than WNP survivors, highlighting important occupational disparities for cancer survivors. Areas for future research are discussed.

Access through altruism: A community-based free outpatient surgery program for the working poor in the United States.

Despite healthcare reform, a large population in the United States is without healthcare coverage. The Surgery for People in Need (SPIN) program offers free outpatient surgical procedures to working, uninsured adults. Taking nearly one year to construct, the program has been operational for three years and has performed 22 procedures. Free surgery programs can improve healthcare access by providing interventions to patients who otherwise have no outlet for surgical care.

Financial Stress and Smoking within a Large Sample of Socially Disadvantaged Australians.

Financial stress is associated with fewer quit attempts and higher relapse rates. This study aimed to compare financial stress among smokers, ex-smokers and never smokers in a highly socioeconomically disadvantaged sample. The study also aimed to determine whether specific indicators of financial stress differ according to smoking status. Adult clients seeking welfare assistance from two Social and Community Service Organisation sites in New South Wales, Australia, were invited to complete a cross-sectional survey between March 2012 and December 2013. Responses to a financial stress scale, smoking status and demographics were collected. Linear and logistic regression modelling was used to examine associations between smoking status and financial stress. A total of 1463 participants completed the survey. Current smokers had significantly higher total financial stress scores than ex-smokers and non-smokers respectively. Current smokers also had higher odds of severe financial stress indicators, such as going without meals (Odds Ratio = 2.2 and 2.0), than both non-smokers and ex-smokers. Even among a highly socioeconomically disadvantaged sample with high levels of financial stress, smoking status further exacerbates experiences of deprivation. Given the relationship between financial stress, socioeconomic disadvantage and difficulty quitting, it is important to provide enhanced cessation support to smokers experiencing financial stress.

Rethinking physical activity for children: implications for the working poor.

Beauchamp, Rhodes, and Nigg propose a tripartite framework necessary for increasing physical activity among elementary-aged children. This framework includes legislation to increase time spent in physical activity during the school day, an extension of the school day for physical activity, and supervision of this time by trained teachers. If implemented, this framework could significantly increase the amount of time elementary-aged children spend in physical activity. Extending the school day also has the potential to alleviate child care anxiety in low-resource households as well as have farther-reaching family and societal impacts.

Work and worklessness: final report of the task group on employment and working conditions, including occupation, unemployment and migrant workers. Review of social determinants of health and the health divide in the WHO European Region: annex

Annex for the review of social determinants of health and the health divide in the WHO European Region. The aims of this report are: to summarize current evidence on the effects of employment and working conditions on health and to describe the contribution of these effects on health inequalities; to identify and discuss interventions and policies that aim at reducing work-related health inequalities; to review available work and health-related monitoring tools; and to propose a set of policy recommendations related to the reported evidence. Separate recommendations are given for low- and medium-income countries and for high-income countries, given the current differences in economic, social and political development. This distinction does not preclude synergy and efforts towards convergence but rather indicates different priorities for action. Moreover, we address responsible stakeholders at three distinct levels: supranational, national and local.

Welfare Reform and Labor Force Exit by Young, Low-Skilled Single Males.

While the labor market woes of low-skilled male workers in the United States over the past several decades have been well documented, the academic literature identifying causal factors leading to declines in labor force participation (LFP) by young, low-skilled males remains scant. To address this gap, I use the timing and characteristics of welfare-reform policies implemented during the 1990s and fixed-effects, instrumental variable regression modeling to show that policies seeking to increase LFP rates for low-skilled single mothers inadvertently led to labor force exit by young, low-skilled single males. Using data from the Current Population Survey and a bundle of work inducements enacted by states throughout the 1990s as exogenous variation in a quasi-experimental design, I find that the roughly 10 percentage point increase in LFP for low-skilled single mothers facilitated by welfare reform resulted in a statistically significant 2.8 percentage point decline in LFP for young, low-skilled single males. After conducting a series of robustness checks, I conclude that this result is driven entirely by white males, who responded to welfare-reform policies with a 3.7 percentage point decline in labor supply. Young black males, as well as other groups of potentially affected workers, appear to be uninfluenced by the labor supply response of less-educated single mothers to welfare reform. Impacts on young, single white males are large and economically significant, suggesting that nearly 150,000 males departed the formal labor market in response to directed welfare-reform policies.

Development of a Health Empowerment Programme to improve the health of working poor families: protocol for a prospective cohort study in Hong Kong.

INTRODUCTION: People from working poor families are at high risk of poor health partly due to limited healthcare access. Health empowerment, a process by which people can gain greater control over the decisions affecting their lives and health through education and motivation, can be an effective way to enhance health, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), health awareness and health-seeking behaviours of these people. A new cohort study will be launched to explore the potential for a Health Empowerment Programme to enable these families by enhancing their health status and modifying their attitudes towards health-related issues. If proven effective, similar empowerment programme models could be tested and further disseminated in collaborations with healthcare providers and policymakers. METHOD AND ANALYSIS: A prospective cohort study with 200 intervention families will be launched and followed up for 5 years. The following inclusion criteria will be used at the time of recruitment: (1) Having at least one working family member; (2) Having at least one child studying in grades 1-3; and (3) Having a monthly household income that is less than 75% of the median monthly household income of Hong Kong families. The Health Empowerment Programme that will be offered to intervention families will comprise four components: health assessment, health literacy, self-care enablement and health ambassador. Their health status, HRQOL, lifestyle and health service utilisation will be assessed and compared with 200 control families with matching characteristics but will not receive the health empowerment intervention. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This project was approved by the University of Hong Kong-the Hospital Authority Hong Kong West Cluster IRB, Reference number: UW 12-517. The study findings will be disseminated through a series of peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations, as well as a yearly report to the philanthropic funding body-Kerry Group Kuok Foundation (Hong Kong) Limited.