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margauxf

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study that the authors reference and model their call to action around is the worlds' largest scientific effort to quantify trends in health. It is lead by the Institute foe Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. It began in 1990 as a World Bank-commissioned study and is known for having introduced the disability-adujusted life year (DALY) as a new metric to quantify the burden of disease, injuries, and risk factors (or determinants), and enable comparisons. 

The 1990s were  a turning point for global health structures of governance and knowledge production, which the GBD study exemplifies. Global health experts began increasingly reframing health and healthcare in technical terms like DALY, removing health from public governance in ways that complemented and bolstered structural adjustment policies that were introduced in the 1980s (Janes 2004). As a result of these policies, the size, scope and reach of healthcare delivery and public health services were steadily reduced and downgraded. Anthropologists have been critical of these processes and other perceived failures in global health: the collapse of primary care initiatives fostered at Alma Ata in 1978, the resurgence of selective forms of primary care and vertical public health programs, and the ascendency of the World Bank as the principal health policymaking institution (Janes 2004, 2009).

Janes, Craig R (2004). "Going global in century XXI: medical anthropology and the new primary health care." Human Organization 63, no. 4: 457-471.

Janes, C. R., & Corbett, K. K. (2009). Anthropology and global health. Annual Review of Anthropology, 38, 167–183. doi:10.1146/annurev-anthro-091908-164314

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tamar.rogoszinski

OSHA covers most private sector employers and their workers. They also cover some public sector employers and workers in the US and other territories under federal authority. Those districts include DC, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and other islands as well. 

Workers at state and local government agencies are not covered by federal OSHA, but have OSH Act protections if they work in states that have an OSHA-approved state program. OSHA also permits states and territories to develop plans that cover only public sector (state and local government) workers. In these cases, private sector workers and employers remain under federal OSHA jurisdiction.OSHA’s protection applies to all federal agencies and does not cover self-employed individuals.

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tamar.rogoszinski

OSHA issues workplace health and safety regulations. These regulations include limits on hazardous chemical exposure, employee access to hazard information, requirements for the use of personal protective equipment, and requirements to prevent falls and hazards from operating dangerous equipment.

For example, OSHA released information regarding Zika and how employers can guarantee safety and protection for their workers. They also provide standards for PPE and decontamination as well as safety. They've released many standards and protocols discussing this. 

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tamar.rogoszinski

OSHA provides more of a guideline for prevention and safety in the workplace, as opposed to reawction. They emphasize the responsibility of employers to provide a safe and assured workplace for their employees. 

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tamar.rogoszinski

OSHA was created with the Occupational Safe and Health Act of 1970 and is part of the US Department of Labor. The legislation was passed because the system of mass production used in the US encouraged the use of machinery, but there was nothing to protect workplace safety. For most employers, it was cheaper to replace a dead or injured worker than it was to introduce safety measures. Many states also enacted workers' compensation laws as labor unions began to become more popular. These laws discouraged employers from permitting unsafe workplaces. A chemical revolution also introduced chemical compounds into the workplace, which jeopardized the safety of workers. These events led to the creation of the legislation and OSHA, highlighting their primary mission.

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tamar.rogoszinski

Because this organization works primarily within workplaces, their goal to prevent disasters and emergencies provides them with an interesting outlook. Their focus on ensuring safety for workers gives them a proactive perspective as opposed to one that responds to disasters. 

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tamar.rogoszinski

They stress the importance of recordkeeping and how that has the ability to change the future outcomes of safety. I would imagine they stress it so intensely due to issues they had in the past. They also have the challenge of dealing with public sectors and workforces not in their jurisdiction. While they are helpful for those they cover, those they do not provide concern in that they can't protect the workers and avoid accidents and emergencies.