There are differences between temporary workers and direct hire employees in terms of total workers' compensation awards, total time off, and percent disability. Additional studies are needed to validate these findings. Am. J. Ind. Med. 60:11-19, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The public health contribution of various health care professions is shaped by their education and areas of expertise. Growing recognition of musculoskeletal pain as a top driver of health care expenses and of back pain as the leading cause of years lived with disability suggest a greater public health role for the chiropractic profession in the United States and globally. There is little consensus on the depth or breadth of public health competencies within doctor of chiropractic programs that would optimize public health awareness and advocacy by chiropractic practitioners. Building on public health competencies published by other health care professions, an iterative consensus building process with chiropractic professional and educational leaders was used to generate a core set of public health competencies for the chiropractic profession. Sixteen competencies in four domains were developed and agreed to as necessary for chiropractors to more fully support the public health of the communities they serve and are being incorporated across chiropractic academic entities.

Objectives: To describe individuals coded as homeless in state-level data comprising of outpatient and inpatient cases over a multi-year period to provide public health surveillance data on the health care utilization and needs of this population. Research Design: In this cross-sectional study, outpatient and inpatient visits coded for homelessness were identified from the Illinois Hospital Discharge Database from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2018. Demographic characteristics, primary diagnosis and comorbid conditions, and hospital course of treatment were described. Predictors of discharge to a health care facility versus routine discharge to home or self-care were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression. Results: There were 154,173 patient visits predominantly involving males, those aged 25–64 years, and non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans. The majority had comorbidities of depression, psychosis, and/or substance abuse (70.2%) and a routine discharge to home or self-care (81.9%). Discharge to home or self-care relative to another health care institution was associated with having charity coverage and being Black/African American. Conclusions: Those experiencing homelessness experience a high burden of health concerns. Hospital billing records can be used to prioritize the distribution of limited public health resources for health care programs and interventions among those experiencing homelessness.

Traumatic occupational injuries were clustered spatially by home location of the affected workers and in a predictable way. This put an inequitable burden on communities and provided evidence for the possible value of community-based interventions for prevention of occupational injuries. Work should be included in health disparities research. Stakeholders should determine whether and how to intervene at the community level to prevent occupational injuries.

Objective: We sought to identify the percentage of nonmusculoskeletal and musculoskeletal conditions treated by interns in the National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) Student Clinic compared to chiropractic and allopathic health care professionals. Methods: The information gathered was taken from the charts of patients treated in the fall trimester, dated September 12, 2011 through December 9, 2011. The data collected included ICD-9 codes for the conditions treated, the number of patient visits, age, and gender, and was evaluated using Microsoft Excel. Results: Over half of the 113 eligible patients were women with a mean patient age of 28 years, an average of three treated diagnoses, and a mean of seven treatments. Those treated only for musculoskeletal conditions totaled 52% of the patients; 48% of the patients were treated for nonmusculoskeletal conditions, or musculoskeletal plus nonmusculoskeletal conditions. Conclusion: The NUHS Student Clinic interns are treating a greater percentage of nonmusculoskeletal conditions and a lesser percentage of musculoskeletal conditions than practicing chiropractic physicians. The student interns also treat a lesser percentage of nonmusculoskeletal and a greater percentage of musculoskeletal conditions than allopathic practitioners. This comparison would suggest that NUHS is nearing its institutional goal of training its student interns as primary care practitioners.

Objective: We sought to identify the percentage of nonmusculoskeletal and musculoskeletal conditions treated by interns in the National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) Student Clinic compared to chiropractic and allopathic health care professionals. Methods: The information gathered was taken from the charts of patients treated in the fall trimester, dated September 12, 2011 through December 9, 2011. The data collected included ICD-9 codes for the conditions treated, the number of patient visits, age, and gender, and was evaluated using Microsoft Excel. Results: Over half of the 113 eligible patients were women with a mean patient age of 28 years, an average of three treated diagnoses, and a mean of seven treatments. Those treated only for musculoskeletal conditions totaled 52% of the patients; 48% of the patients were treated for nonmusculoskeletal conditions, or musculoskeletal plus nonmusculoskeletal conditions. Conclusion: The NUHS Student Clinic interns are treating a greater percentage of nonmusculoskeletal conditions and a lesser percentage of musculoskeletal conditions than practicing chiropractic physicians. The student interns also treat a lesser percentage of nonmusculoskeletal and a greater percentage of musculoskeletal conditions than allopathic practitioners. This comparison would suggest that NUHS is nearing its institutional goal of training its student interns as primary care practitioners.

Objective: Individuals in transitional housing programs often have a goal of reaching stable employment, but the unique needs and barriers for achieving this warrants further study. Methods: A structured interview guide was administered orally and descriptive data analysis was done for this exploratory mixed-methods study. Results: Commonly reported reemployment challenges included legal barriers and unmet transportation, housing, and financial needs. More than two-thirds of residents reported no place to live after the program regardless of if they had previous precarious housing. Emerging themes included challenges regarding sufficient time for the transition to being employed, fear of relapse, and lack of long-term goals and planning. Conclusions: Findings suggest that residential rehabilitation programs are an important resource. While these programs tend to focus on reemployment, their services could be enhanced by assessing individual needs and allowing for variation in reemployment preparation.

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