UMMS Affiliation
UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science
Publication Date
2018-03-31
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Agriculture | Community-Based Research | Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Health Services Administration | Health Services Research | Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene | Substance Abuse and Addiction | Translational Medical Research
Abstract
Fishing industry workers are at high risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and injuries. Prescription opioids used to treat pain injuries may put these workers at increased risk for developing substance disorders. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research approach, formative research was conducted to inform the eventual development of relevant interventions to prevent and reduce opioid use disorders among fishing industry workers. Qualitative interviews (n = 21) were conducted to assess: knowledge and attitudes about opioid use disorders; features of fishing work that might affect use and/or access to treatment; and community and organizational capacity for prevention and treatment. Participants reported numerous pathways connecting commercial fishing with opioid use. The combination of high stress and physically tasking job duties requires comprehensive workplace interventions to prevent chronic pain and MSDs, in addition to tailored and culturally responsive treatment options to address opioid use disorders in this population. Public health programs must integrate workplace health and safety protection along with evidence-based primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions in order to address opioid use disorders, particularly among workers in strenuous jobs.
Keywords
community based participatory research, industry workers, opioid use disorders, prevention, workplace health, UMCCTS funding
Rights and Permissions
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
DOI of Published Version
10.3390/ijerph15040648
Source
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Mar 31;15(4). pii: E648. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15040648. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
International journal of environmental research and public health
Related Resources
PubMed ID
29614742
Repository Citation
Walter, Angela; Morocho, Cesar; King, Lauren; Bartlett, John; Kelsey, Debra; DeSousa, Monica; Biesecker, Gretchen; and Punnett, Laura, "Preventing Opioid Use Disorders among Fishing Industry Workers" (2018). UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science Supported Publications. 158.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/umccts_pubs/158
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Agriculture Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Health Services Administration Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons, Translational Medical Research Commons