Migrant workers may be more likely to be exposed to workplace psychosocial stressors (WPS) which have an affect on physical and mental health. Given the relative lack of research on this topic, the study objectives were to estimate and compare the prevalence of WPS in migrant and Australian workers and investigate associated mental health problems. Three cross-sectional surveys, two with migrant workers and one with Australian workers, were pooled to provide estimates of prevalence. Regressions were conducted to investigate associations between workers and WPS. All WPS, except unfair pay, were associated with higher probability of mental health problems. The association between WPS and mental health did differ between some migrant groups. Compared with Australian-born workers, all other migrant groups tended to have a lower risk of mental health outcomes. Interactions between WPS and migrants showed variable levels in the risk of having a mental health problem, some attenuated and some increased. The study showed that country of birth does play a part in how treatment in the workplace is perceived and responded to. Any interventions to improve workplace conditions for migrant workers need to be aware of the different experiences related to migrant ethnicity.

E-cigarettes are promoted extensively on TikTok and other social media platforms. Platform policies to restrict e-cigarette promotion seem insufficient and are poorly enforced. This paper aims to understand how e-cigarettes are being promoted on TikTok and provide insights into the effectiveness of current TikTok policies. Seven popular hashtag-based keywords were used to identify TikTok accounts and associated videos related to e-cigarettes. Posts were independently coded by two trained coders. Collectively, the 264 videos received 2,470,373 views, 166,462 likes and 3426 comments. The overwhelming majority of videos (97.7%) portrayed e-cigarettes positively, and these posts received 98.7% of the total views and 98.2% of the total likes. A total of 69 posts (26.1%) clearly violated TikTok’s own content policy. The findings of the current study suggest that a variety of predominantly pro-vaping content is available on TikTok. Current policies and moderation processes appear to be insufficient in restricting the spread of pro-e-cigarette content on TikTok, putting predominantly young users at potential risk of e-cigarette use.

Objective Research indicates that shiftwork may be associated with increased risks of adverse health outcomes, including some cancers. However, the evidence of an association between shiftwork and colorectal cancer risk is limited and inconclusive. Further, while several possible pathways through which shiftwork might result in cancer have been proposed, few studies have taken these factors into account. We investigated the association between two types of shiftwork (graveyard shiftwork and early-morning shiftwork) and six mechanistic shiftwork variables (including light at night and phase shift) and the risk of colorectal cancer among females in an Australian population-based case–control study. Graveyard shiftwork was the primary exposure of interest. Methods Participants (350 cases and 410 controls) completed a lifetime occupational history, and exposure to each of the eight shiftwork variables was assigned to participants through a job exposure matrix. We used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between different shiftwork variables and the risk of colorectal cancer, adjusting for potential demographic, lifestyle and medical confounders. Results Working in an occupation involving long-term exposure (>7.5 years) to graveyard shiftwork was not associated with colorectal cancer risk (adjusted OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.58). Similarly, no increased risks of colorectal cancer were seen for any of the other seven shiftwork variables examined. Conclusions No evidence of an increased risk of colorectal cancer among females who had worked in occupations involving shiftwork was observed in this study.

There is very little information available on a national level as to the number of people exposed to specific asthmagens in workplaces. We conducted a national telephone survey in Australia to investigate the prevalence of current occupational exposure to 277 asthmagens, assembled into 27 groups. Demographic and current job information were obtained. A web-based tool, OccIDEAS, was used to collect job task information and assign exposure to each asthmagen group. In the Australian Workplace Exposure Study – Asthma (AWES- Asthma) we interviewed 4878 participants (2441 male and 2437 female). Exposure to at least one asthmagen was more common among men (47 %) than women (40 %). Extrapolated to the Australian population, approximately 2.8 million men and 1.7 million women were estimated to be exposed. Among men, the most common exposures were bioaerosols (29 %) and metals (27 %), whilst the most common exposures among women were latex (25 %) and industrial cleaning and sterilising agents (20 %). This study provides information about the prevalence of exposure to asthmagens in Australian workplaces which will be useful in setting priorities for control and prevention of occupational asthma.

Background: Australia mined asbestos for more than 100 years and manufactured and imported asbestos products. There is a legacy of in situ asbestos throughout the built environment. Methods: The aim of this study was to identify the possible sources of current and future asbestos exposure from the built environment. Telephone interviews with environmental health officers, asbestos removalists, and asbestos assessors in Australia sought information about common asbestos scenarios encountered. Results: There is a considerable amount of asbestos remaining in situ in the Australian built environment. Potential current and future sources of asbestos exposure to the public are from asbestos-containing roofs and fences, unsafe asbestos removal practices, do-it-yourself home renovations and illegal dumping. Conclusion: This research has highlighted a need for consistent approaches in the regulation and enforcement of safe practices for the management and removal of asbestos to ensure that in situ asbestos in the built environment is managed appropriately.

Background: Studies in other countries have generally found approximately 4% of current cancers to be attributable to past occupational exposures. This study aimed to estimate the future burden of cancer resulting from current occupational exposures in Australia. Methods: The future excess fraction method was used to estimate the future burden of occupational cancer (2012-2094) among the proportion of the Australian working population who were exposed to occupational carcinogens in 2012. Calculations were conducted for 19 cancer types and 53 cancer-exposure pairings, assuming historical trends and current patterns continued to 2094. Results: The cohort of 14.6 million Australians of working age in 2012 will develop an estimated 4.8 million cancers during their lifetime, of which 68,500 (1.4%) are attributable to occupational exposure in those exposed in 2012. The majority of these will be lung cancers (n = 26,000), leukaemias (n = 8000), and malignant mesotheliomas (n = 7500). Conclusions: A significant proportion of future cancers will result from occupational exposures. This estimate is lower than previous estimates in the literature; however, our estimate is not directly comparable to past estimates of the occupational cancer burden because they describe different quantities - future cancers in currently exposed versus current cancers due to past exposures. The results of this study allow us to determine which current occupational exposures are most important, and where to target exposure prevention. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.