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Background: It is unknown how the novel Coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2, the cause of the current acute respiratory illness COVID‐19 pandemic that has infected millions of people, affects people with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). The aim of this study is to describe how individuals with IDD have been affected in the first 100 days of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: Shortly after the first COVID‐19 case was reported in the USA, our organisation, which provides continuous support for over 11 000 individuals with IDD, assembled an outbreak committee composed of senior leaders from across the health care organisation. The committee led the development and deployment of a comprehensive COVID‐19 prevention and suppression strategy, utilising current evidence‐based practice, while surveilling the global and local situation daily. We implemented enhanced infection control procedures across 2400 homes, which were communicated to our employees using multi‐faceted channels including an electronic resource library, mobile and web applications, paper postings in locations, live webinars and direct mail. Using custom‐built software applications enabling us to track patient, client and employee cases and exposures, we leveraged current public health recommendations to identify cases and to suppress transmission, which included the use of personal protective equipment. A COVID‐19 case was defined as a positive nucleic acid test for SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA. Results: In the 100‐day period between 20 January 2020 and 30 April 2020, we provided continuous support for 11 540 individuals with IDD. Sixty‐four per cent of the individuals were in residential, community settings, and 36% were in intermediate care facilities. The average age of the cohort was 46 ± 12 years, and 60% were male. One hundred twenty‐two individuals with IDD were placed in quarantine for exhibiting symptoms and signs of acute infection such as fever or cough. Sixty‐six individuals tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2, and their average age was 50. The positive individuals were located in 30 different homes (1.3% of total) across 14 states. Fifteen homes have had single cases, and 15 have had more than one case. Fifteen COVID‐19‐positive individuals were hospitalised. As of 30 April, seven of the individuals hospitalised have been discharged back to home and are recovering. Five remain hospitalised, with three improving and two remaining in intensive care and on mechanical ventilation. There have been three deaths. We found that among COVID‐19‐positive individuals with IDD, a higher number of chronic medical conditions and male sex were characteristics associated with a greater likelihood of hospitalisation. Conclusions: In the first 100 days of the COVID‐19 outbreak in the USA, we observed that people with IDD living in congregate care settings can benefit from a coordinated approach to infection control, case identification and cohorting, as evidenced by the low relative case rate reported. Male individuals with higher numbers of chronic medical conditions were more likely to be hospitalised, while most younger, less chronically ill individuals recovered spontaneously at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the findings of an analysis conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) regarding work related injury deaths among Hispanic Americans during the period 1992-2006. According to the analysis, 34% of deaths involving Hispanics between 2003-2006 occurred in the construction industry. Also, the analysis found that homicide was the most common fatal event occurring to Hispanic Americans from 1992 to 1996.

Residents of congregate care settings have been severely impacted by the current Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this report, we describe the methods our home-based primary care practice has developed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in assisted living facilities (ALFs) and we present an initial evaluation of this innovation. Shortly after the first COVID-19 case was reported in the United States, our organization assembled an outbreak committee, designed to support the 1794 ALF residents and the 101 communities in which they reside. The committee led the development and deployment of a comprehensive COVID-19 prevention and suppression strategy. The average age of the cohort was 83 ± 11 years, and 74% were female. Seven individuals (0.4% of census) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The positive individuals were located in 3 ALFs, representing 3% of our total number of ALFs. There has been 1 death. Home-based primary care-led outbreak mitigation may be an enabler to suppress COVID-19 in ALFs., (Copyright © 2020 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published reports detailing the results of investigations on selected work-related fatalities through the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program since 1982., Method: Information from construction-related FACE reports was coded into the Construction FACE Database (CFD). Use of the CFD was illustrated by analyzing major CFD variables., Results: A total of 768 construction fatalities were included in the CFD. Information on decedents, safety training, use of PPE, and FACE recommendations were coded. Analysis shows that one in five decedents in the CFD died within the first two months on the job; 75% and 43% of reports recommended having safety training or installing protection equipment, respectively., Conclusion: Comprehensive research using FACE reports may improve understanding of work-related fatalities and provide much-needed information on injury prevention., Practical Application: The CFD allows researchers to analyze the FACE reports quantitatively and efficiently., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.)

This study analyzed the Construction FACE Database (CFD), a quantitative database developed from reports of the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The CFD contains detailed data on 768 fatalities in the construction industry reported by NIOSH and individual states from 1982 through June 30, 2015. The results show that falls accounted for 42% (325) of the 768 fatalities included in the CFD. Personal fall arrest systems (PFAS) were not available to more than half of the fall decedents (54%); nearly one in four fall decedents (23%) had access to PFAS, but were not using it at the time of the fall. Lack of access to PFAS was particularly high among residential building contractors as well as roofing, siding, and sheet metal industry sectors (∼70%). Although the findings may not represent the entire construction industry today, they do provide strong evidence in favor of fall protection requirements by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In addition to stronger enforcement, educating employers and workers about the importance and effectiveness of fall protection is crucial for compliance and fall prevention., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the United States National Institutes of Health includes the International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational Health (ITREOH) Program. The "International Training Program in Environmental Toxicology and Public Health" Center, funded in 2002 is based at the University of California, Davis, and is part of the ITREOH group of Centers. It has major efforts focused at the public universities in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Salta, Argentina., Results: Training and research efforts in Salta begun in 2005 in the College of Engineering. A donated used real-time PCR machine was the starting point and the initial FIC support was instrumental to face other problems including physical space, research projects and grants, trainees, training, networking, and distractions/opportunities in order to develop local capacities in Environmental Engineering using modern methodology. After 6 years of successful work, the Salta center has become a reference Center in the field, and is still growing and consolidating., Conclusions: This program has had a significant impact locally and regionally. The model used in Argentina could be easily adapted to other fields or types of projects in Argentina and in other developing countries., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The concept of evidence-based prevention (EBP), was developed during the last decade as the counterpart, in Public Health, of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) in Clinical Medicine. The growing debate on EBP reflects the increasing recognition that successful evaluation of public health interventions will necessarily entail the use of research designs other than controlled trials as well as the use of various other types of evidence, often in combination. Evidence-based prevention, therefore, aims to implement those prevention strategies that have been found to be useful and effective through a formal evaluation based on scientific methodology. A the same it aims to progressively discard all preventive practices for which usefulness and effectiveness have not been proved.