Health and Safety Issues in the Aging Workforce

There is a growing concern about the interaction between work and the aging process due to the combination of the post-World War II "baby boom" and the "baby bust" that followed. It has become clear that the demographic trends that result from these two cohort waves will result in an older workforce that will need to continue as active members of the labor force to maintain income and to maintain the health of the economy. Immediate attention should be directed at making certain there is adequate understanding of how to protect and promote the health of this aging workforce. Some of the more important questions related to this concern include: In what way does age impact on a worker's ability to meet the demands of a job? What job-related factors adversely affect the aging process? How might the expertise and wisdom of older workers balance age-related changes in physical and cognitive functioning? In what ways can work be designed to permit workers to enter retirement in a state of maximum health? The answers to these questions are incomplete and the knowledge base is limited. This presentation is designed to highlight what is known and what can be done with the information at hand. Where possible this will be illustrated with examples from the literature and will include attention to determinants of age-specific risks and examples of interventions that address these risks.

This seminar was held on April 21, 2005.

Video

To watch the streaming video, your computer needs:

• Internet connection with a 56K modem or faster.
• Sound card with speakers so you can hear the audio portion of the course.
• Real Player Software - if it isn't installed on your computer, download it for free at http://real.com.

Video of the April 21, 2005, NORA Symposium

Objectives

Upon completion of the sessions, participants should be able to:

1. recognize demographic trends in the aging workforce,
2. describe the physical and mental aspects of aging and work,
3. consider proper approaches to making work environments healthy and safe for older workers.

Speaker

Dr. David H. Wegman, MD, served on the faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health (1972-1983) and was director of the Occupational Health Program (1981-1983). He then served as Chair of Occupational and Environmental Health at UCLA's School of Public Health until 1987, when he became the founding chair of the Department of Work Environment in the Engineering College at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, now one of the leading academic centers of research and training in New England.

Dr. Wegman's goal in establishing the Department of Work Environment was to develop a graduate program that closely integrated the identification of work-related risks for injury and illness with the development of new processes, equipment, and materials, and new ways to organize work which would lead to reduction or elimination of these risks. The department's program for graduate study and research has advanced well beyond the traditional academic programs that address occupational health and is unique in this country. Dr. Wegman's own teaching interests have included the department's core course in health effects of occupational exposures, the capstone course in developing a scientific basis for health standards, and advanced courses in occupational epidemiology related to respiratory disease and cancer.

Dr. Wegman has focused his research on epidemiologic studies of occupational respiratory disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and cancer. In related work, he has been exploring issues of variability in pulmonary function measurements in both working and general populations. He has collaborated in several studies of work risks for musculoskeletal disorders as well as surveillance of occupational diseases and hazards.

Dr. Wegman is board-certified in Occupational Medicine, and a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology. His professional activities include: member of the Board of Directors of the International Commission on Occupational Health and past Chair of it's Scientific Committee on Epidemiology in Occupational Health; chair of the National Research Council - Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on the Health and Safety Consequences of Child Labor and member of the NRC-IOM Panel on Musculoskeletal Disorders and Work, the IOM Committees to Review the Health Consequences of Service During the Persian Gulf War and to Review Gender Differences in Susceptibility to Environmental Factors; Chair of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration's Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Pneumoconiosis Among Coal Mine Workers, and consultant to the Director of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health on the NIOSH extramural research program and on research concerning aging and work. He has been elected Treasurer of the International Epidemiologic Association and has previously served on the NIOSH Board of Scientific Counselors and the EPA Scientific Advisory Board and as a consultant to the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe. He serves as Chair of the Epidemiology Review Board for DuPont Corporation, and was past chair of the Occupational Health Advisory Board for the United Auto Workers and the General Motors Corporation.

Dr. Wegman has published over 200 articles in the scientific literature. He is co-editor of the standard introductory textbook in the field of occupational health, Occupational Health: Recognition and Prevention of Work Related Disease. He received the Alfred L. Frechette Award from the Massachusetts Public Health Association, and the Harriet L. Hardy Award from the New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.