Guide from NIOSH, MSHA Aims to Prevent Opioid Use Disorder among Mine Workers
A new guide released jointly by NIOSH and MSHA is intended to help occupational health and safety managers, mine operators, and others prevent opioid use disorder within the mining industry. According to the agencies, mine workers are disproportionately affected by opioid use and overdose compared to workers in other industries. And data from the National Vital Statistics System, which collects information on U.S. births and deaths, show that male mine workers have the highest rates of suicide among major industries.
Mine workers’ increased risk for harmful substance use and adverse mental health outcomes can stem from work-related pain and injuries as well as psychosocial stress due to difficult working conditions, the guide explains. Physically demanding tasks and numerous hazardous exposures are among the examples of work-related factors outlined by NIOSH and MSHA that can contribute to substance use disorders. The resources in the agencies’ new publication can be used by occupational health and safety managers to implement prevention strategies aimed at better equipping their workplaces to address issues related to opioid use.
The guide identifies ten workplace prevention strategies that can “minimize workers’ risks and allow supportive services to be tailored to employers’ workforce needs.” Injury prevention programs, workplace policies, and employee assistance programs are among the strategies that employers can use as part of a more comprehensive workplace prevention program. The guide also provides information about more recent efforts in this area: Recovery-Ready Workplace Programs, which take a “holistic, comprehensive workplace approach to support prevention, treatment, and recovery for workers with [substance use disorders],” and workplace naloxone programs, which have become more common since the drug that reverses opioid overdoses was made available for use without a prescription last year by the Food and Drug Administration.
“By providing this guide, NIOSH and MSHA hope to normalize conversations about [opioid use disorder], reduce stigma, offer tools for prevention, and break down barriers to treatment and recovery supports for mine workers struggling with opioid use disorders,” NIOSH states in a news release.
The new opioid resource guide is available through the MSHA website.
Related: Read “Can Ergonomics Programs Help Solve the Opioid Crisis?” in The Synergist.
