Factsheets and White Papers
Factsheets and White Papers Heading link
The Illinois Injury Prevention Center is committed to developing and disseminating materials for a broad non-scientific audience.
White Papers & Research Reports
2018-2020 Illinois Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Illinois Worker Health by Industry
Work is a determinant of health in terms of hazardous exposure and risk, a source of beneficial social and economic resources, and a driver of social position. Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 2018-2020 to further understand the health status of Illinois workers, this report summarizes the prevalence of inadequate health care access, general health status, health protective behaviors, and health risk factors of the Illinois workforce by industry.
Full Report and Powerpoint Presentation
Labor Migration and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot for a Comparative Study of Policy Impacts on Workers in the Food Supply Chain in Germany, the Netherlands, and the US
This report examined policies and public health data in the realms of immigration, employment, and health in the meatpacking and agriculture sectors in Illinois–one of the highest producers in the US food supply chain–during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis will form the basis for next steps: laying out important definitions, identifying informative data sources, and assembling a roster of key informants–individuals and representatives of business, government, university, unions, and advocacy groups.
Protecting Temporary Staffing Workers in Illinois: A Policy Analysis
Approximately, 200,000 Illinois workers are employed through temporary (temp) staffing companies, with over 800,000 “temp gigs” per year, making Illinois the third highest among the states in temp staffing employment. Temp workers generally earn 50-67% of the wages of workers who are directly hired by the client or host companies, and generally, they are not offered social benefits. Employment in temp staffing jobs is unstable by nature–workers can be let go at any time and without cause. This report describes employment data, injury risks and policies to help better protect temporary staffing workers in Illinois and the U.S.
Occupational Health Risks from Class B Biosolids
This report summarizes information about the hazards associated with the production and use of biosolids. Biosolids are the remains of organic debris and residues resulting from treatment of municipal, commercial, and industrial wastewater (sewage including toilet waste). In a typical wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), biosolids do not undergo tertiary treatment. Instead, biosolids are separated from wastewater. Biosolids are sold for agricultural purposes and energy production. This report discusses the sources and hazards associated with biosolids, identifies workers that are at risk of exposure, the health risks associated with exposure to biosolids, and workplace controls that can be used to reduce exposure.
Exposure Assessment of Workers in Photovoltaic Panel Manufacturing
This report evaluates potential health hazards associated with employment in photovoltaic panel manufacturing plants. Because there are various manufacturing processes used to produce photovoltaic panels, this report discusses the most common manufacturing process currently in the United States. This process involves purification of the silicon, manufacturing of individual polycrystalline wafers, and the assembly of the final solar modules. The purification step creates ingots of highly pure metallurgical silicon. The ingots are then cut into thin sheets called wafers which are then cleaned and treated. In the final step, the module assembly puts all the pieces together for a complete solar panel.
Tractor Rollovers Are Preventable
The agriculture sector has the highest rate of fatal occupational injuries and the highest rate of non-fatal work-related illnesses and injuries. Tractor deaths are responsible for approximately one-third of these deaths with tractor rollovers accosting for about half, however, tractor rollovers are preventable.
Opioid Epidemic in Cook County Illinois
The report analyzed four health data systems to characterize the opioid epidemic among residents covered under the Cook County Department of Public Health jurisdiction. The datasets utilized for this analysis included data from the Illinois Poison Center, hospital outpatient emergency department (ED) visits that do not result in a hospital admission, hospital inpatient admissions, and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. No single dataset fully characterizes the problem of the opioid epidemic in Cook County, and individual characteristics and types of opioids differ in each dataset. However, the aggregate of information gathered across all the datasets provides the most comprehensive picture. This report focuses on cases of acute intoxication-overdose from January 2016 through June 15, 2020.
Harm Reduction Strategies to Address the Opioid Epidemic in Suburban Cook County
Report conducted in partnership with the Cook County Department of Public Health. The report presents the state of scientific knowledge regarding different harm reduction strategies that can be used to mitigate the harm from the ongoing opioid epidemic. The pragmatic harm reduction model takes into account that individuals with substance use disorders move along the recovery continuum in both directions — allowing for relapse– which is in direct opposition to traditional zero-tolerance models. The role of public health practitioners is to meet individuals “where they are” instead of ineffectively forcing individuals with SUDs and those assisting these individuals to adhere to a singular and unidirectional intervention path.