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.