Workplace Health Without Borders - US branch (WHWB-US)

Activity Report 2022-2023

As I prepare to leave the office of the president, I want to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for your support and cooperation during my tenure. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve you and to work with you on many important projects and initiatives. I am proud of what we have accomplished together and I hope you will continue to build on our achievements and partnerships. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and I look forward to staying in touch with you.

The 2022 – 2023 period has been one of challenges and opportunities for WHWB-US, as we have initiated and implemented many projects in support of our mission to promote occupational health among underserved worker populations both in the United States and globally. These efforts have been developed, promoted, and supported by the current Board of Directors and members and friends of the organization.

WHWB-US BOARD OF DIRECTORS – 2022-2023

STRATEGIC GOALS, PROJECT, AND PROGRAM REPORTS

The following is a summary of the main activities and projects that are currently underway or planned for future implementation. These programs and projects serve to promote awareness of occupational health through the sharing of knowledge, technical skill, and resources and to build capacity in underserved workers and their employers to identify and mitigate risks in the workplace and where those risks impact families and communities. The goals of the programs are to foster connections and global partnerships among occupational health professionals, educators, researchers, students, and funding resources to implement the vision of ensuring worker health and safety.

1. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION – AFRICA - ETHIOPIA

WHWB-US WOLAITA SODO UNIVERSITY (WSU) OSH COLLABORATION

In 2018, a chance encounter between Abert Tien and Yuseneh Gerwah Chernet from Wolaita Sodo University (WSU), Ethiopia led to the WHWB-US WSU OSH Collaboration. The COVID 19 pandemic and global travel restrictions halted the planned meetings between partners. In lieu of in-person meetings, a series of on-line presentations (19 webinars) on OSH topics and regulations was organized in the spring of 2022 for WSU.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the members and friends of WHWB-US that contributed to the online training sessions. Many of the Power-Point presentations are available for review. One lesson learned in the virtual meetings was that the internet

infrastructure in Ethiopia is very limited which complicates information exchange and lessens the ability to rely on e-learning systems. We wish to thank our presenters and the University of Michigan staff and faculty for the time and expertise that they shared with our guests and for their support of this project. The core team involved in this endeavor included Albert Tien, Cheryl Schiller, Bert Schiller, and Eugene Satrun.

2. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION – ASIA - VIETNAM

i. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH (NIOEH)

a. Promoting close collaborations in conducting projects:

b. Finalized micro-grant for Video Exposure Monitoring research project.

c. Planning IH/OH training courses for September 2024.

d. Organizing and co-hosting “The 11th International Scientific Conference on Environmental Health”, November 2024 (to be confirmed).

ii. FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES – HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES -VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY (FES-HUS-VNU)

a. SIGNED LETTER OF INTENT to collaborate with WHWB-US on the following:

1. Guest Lecture Program,

2. Participation in seminars and academic meetings,

3. Exchange of academic materials and other information,

4. Participation in Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Program,

5. Joint research activities and

6. Special short-term academic programs.

b. VNU AND ALL WHWB BRANCHES TO CO-HOST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “Health Hazards of Chronic Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Compounds from Construction and Manufacturing Materials, Oct/Nov 2024 (to be confirmed)

iii. THANG LONG UNIVERSITY (TLU) In-person discussions with Vice-president of TLU to explore potential collaborations in training courses and virtual exchanges.

3. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER WHWB BRANCHES

Members of WHWB-US have collaborated with other WHWB branches on various working group and activities, such as:

• Silica Webinar Series – David Goldsmith

• Asbestos Webinar Series – Tuan Nguyen, Hien Ngo

• Invited speakers from Vietnam and US to present at webinars – Tuan Nguyen

• Participate in Training courses - IH and Noise – Tuan Nguyen, Hien Ngo

• Asbestos Working Group – Tuan Nguyen, David Goldsmith

• Nail Salon Working Group – Mary O’Reilly, Tuan Nguyen

4. SIGNING MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) AND MOU COORDINATION

WHWB-US serves as a liaison in coordinating the signing of mou’s between various institutions to formalize collaboration and partnership among stakeholders.

• MOU’s have been signed between FES-HUS-VNU and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Wollongong University of Australia.

• WHWB-US signed a letter of intent to collaborate with FES-HUS-VNU or FES-VNU.

The lead for this program is Tuan Nguyen.

5. STUDENT CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT

The student chapter development, which seeks to engage and empower university students in occupational health and safety, has been established at Purdue University, led by Dr. Mark Wilson and Edem Fabrice Sededji, President of the Student Chapter. The program also aims to expand the network to include other student chapters and students from different universities and countries.

6. INTERNATIONAL GROUP MENTORING PROGRAM

Another aspect of our international engagement is the development of the group mutual mentoring initiative. This program has attracted global interest, and we are building a critical mass for the program to create time zone hubs to coordinate schedules and match mentors and mentees based on their regional interests and expertise. We hope to connect all of our student chapters into this program in the future. The leads for this program are Tuan Nguyen and Hien Ngo. (to be implement in 2024)

7. COLLABORATIVE ONLINE INTERNATIONAL LEARNING (COIL) STATE UNIVERSITIES OF NEW YORK (SUNY)

The SUNY COIL program connects US universities to universities throughout the world to participate in lecture exchanges between networked programs and classes. In 2023, the program was promoted, and a successful linkage was established between SUNY at Albany, Xavier University, TLU and FES-VNU. The leads of this program at WHWB-US are Mary O’Reilly and Hien Ngo.

8. TEACHING AND GUEST LECTURER PROGRAM

We have established a formal agreement to teach at FES-VNU in 2024 academic year. A list of guest lecturers for the FES-VNU OSHE Engineering program for other events globally such as conferences and workshops is being established.

9. TRAINING/CAPACITY BUILDING ONLINE

We have been working on developing and delivering EHS Training for FES-VNU staff, as well as planning for future training needs. We were able to enroll about 80 students with approximately 20-25 from Vietnam in the Noise class (started 10/4/2023, coordinated and led by Marianne Levitsky).

We were also collaborated with Jennifer Galvin (current president of WHWB) to deliver a Basic Principles of IH/OH training course (started 9/28/2023) to about 14 researchers and specialists at NIOEH, FES-VNU and other universities, with the participation of the following trainers, and coordinator: Jennifer Galvin, Tuan Nguyen, Ken Osakwe, Jake Ward, and Hien Ngo.

10. FULBRIGHT SPECIALIST PROGRAM

Via the Fulbright Specialist Program award, which provides short-term academic opportunities for U.S. Faculty and professionals to collaborate with host institutions abroad, Tuan Nguyen was able to come to Vietnam to work with the FES-VNU to jointly develop the 4.5-year engineering program in OEHS. The program was approved in May 2023 and the first academic semester began in September of 2023.

Jake Ward applied and was approved to be on the Fulbright Specialist Roster (ready to serve pending on accepting suitable project).

11. GRANT COLLABORATION AND SUBMISSION

• A grant from the American Industrial Hygiene Society, Emerging Economy Microgrants Program provided partial funding for the WHWB-US Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia - OSH Collaboration.

• WHWB-US has submitted a micro-grant application to the IAC-AIHA for support of the Vietnam national University conference. (Awarded $3500)

• An exploratory grant seeking collaboration with Vietnamese institutions was submitted by two professors from the University of Minnesota, Public Health Department in late October 2023 with the assistance of WHWB-US. (Awarded $5000)

12. FUNDRAISING: DONATIONS

• Funding for the WHWB-US WSU OSH Collaboration was partially provided by member dues and member and friends’ individual donations and The Michigan Industrial Hygiene Society (MIHS).

• Generous donors provided have provided $5000 (10 scholarships of $500 each) for first year engineering students in the new OSHE program at FES-VNU. The Scholarship Award ceremony will be held online so WHWB-US’s members and others can attend. (Date TBD)

13. JOINT RESEARCH PROJECT - COGNITIVE AND MOTOR ABILITY IMPAIRMENT ASSESSMENT TOOL

Albert Tien has been in conversations with Impairment Science, Inc the developers of Druid software, an innovative approach to assessing worker fitness for duty. Druid is a mobile app that tests a user’s cognitive and motor impairment from any type of cause. Potential joint project using Druid software will be explored. The leads of this program at WHWB-US are Albert Tien and Cheryl Schiller.

14. PUBLICITY AND PROMOTION OF WHWB-US

We are involved in writing for the WHWB newsletter and member announcements. We have published an article on nail salon safety in Vietnamese language to raise awareness among the workers and customers.

15. IH EQUIPMENT / E-BOOKS / READING MATERIALS COLLECTION PROGRAM

The program involves cataloging, repairing, calibrating, shipping donated equipment to be used for student training purposes at universities in Vietnam and in Ethiopia. The Technology, Health, and Environment Institute in Vietnam has agreed to refurbish the donated equipment. We are seeking financial support for shipping costs.

SKC-Asia has agreed to loan industrial hygiene demo equipment and accessories to courses being taught in Vietnam by WHWB-US or the Vietnamese Industrial Hygiene Association (an affiliation of our branch)

With a slate of newly elected officers and directors, 2024 will certainly be an action packed and transformative year for us with the implementation of a range of programs and projects that will enhance the capacity, engagement, research, and training/teaching of the field's practitioners and stakeholders. These programs will address the current and emerging challenges and opportunities in OSHE and foster collaboration among WHWB members and other institutions around the world.

My sincere appreciation to all contributors,

Tuan Nguyen, MBA, CIH, CSP, ARM, FAIHA

President Emeritus, WHWB-US.org

Workplace Health Without Borders US Branch

Board Member at Large

David Goldsmith – President Emeritus

Eugene Satrun – Webmaster

Audrey Cunningham – Teleconference

Jake Ward – Assistant Webmaster