Search

Objective. To determine the impact of engagement with third parties (i.e., managers, receptionists, or owners of in-call venues; advertisers; security; spotters; and others) on sex workers' occupational health access. Methods. We drew longitudinal data from An Evaluation of Sex Workers' Health Access, a community-based cohort of more than 900 women sex workers. We used multivariable logistic regression and generalized estimating equations to (1) examine factors correlated with accessing third-party administrative or security services and (2) evaluate the impact of third-party services on access to mobile condom distribution and sex worker and community-led services (2010–2016). Finally, we evaluated changes in accessing third-party services pre–post end-demand criminalization (2010–2017). Results. Im/migrant sex workers (persons with any type of legal status who were born in another country; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.35, 3.98) had higher odds of accessing third-party services. In confounder models, third-party services were independently correlated with increased access to mobile condom distribution (AOR = 1.84; 95% CI = 1.47, 2.31) and sex worker and community-led services (AOR = 1.61; 95% CI = 1.15, 2.24). End-demand criminalization was linked to a decrease in access to third-party services (AOR = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.63, 0.99). Conclusions. This research suggests that access to administrative and security services from third parties increases sex workers' occupational health and safety. Policy reforms to ensure sex workers' labor rights, including access to hiring third parties, are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade worker-controlled occupational health centers have been established in three Canadian provinces. This development has been a response to the slowness in recognizing occupational medicine in the Canadian medical community, the limited availability and questionable acceptability of existing services, as well as the growth of worker control in occupational health matters generally. The history, funding, organizational structure, personnel, resources, and programs of these worker-controlled centers are outlined, illustrating the extensive programs that can be provided despite small budgets of these operations. Advantages to workers include direct access to resources as well as expert professional advice with the focus on work place hazards. Furthermore, the centers provide for extensive interaction among workers on their common concerns. Disadvantages of the model include restricted access to work places associated with frequent distrust of employers. Employer-based and university-based models are compared to worker-controlled centers, and it is suggested that the latter may influence the pattern of practice of occupational health as well as the ability of workers and their unions to promote improved occupational health and safety conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased public awareness of the possible presence of carcinogens and other potentially harmful agents in the workplace and in others areas of the environment has created a demand for studies to determine the extent of the risks associated with exposure to such agents. These studies require large numbers of individuals in various "exposed" and "control" populations to be followed-up over long periods of time. Such large-scale follow-up can be greatly facilitated where information on all deaths and on cases of serious morbidity is accumulated centrally, for a whole country, in a form that permits rapid searching by computer and in which individuals are well enough identified to minimize the possibility of mistaken identity. The Canadian Mortality Data Base and the National Cancer Incidence Reporting System are two such centralized follow-up facilities which have been developed in Canada. We describe here the manner in which these files are used, the problems encountered and their solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined associations between workforce demographics and job characteristics, grouped by industrial sector, and declines in workers' compensation claim rates in Ontario, Canada, between 1990 and 2003. Gender, age, occupation, and job tenure were predictors for claim rates in 12 industrial sectors. The decline in claims was significantly associated with a decline in the proportion of employment in occupations with high physical demands. These findings should generate interest in economic incentives and regulatory policies designed to encourage investment in safer production processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]