Under the leadership of Dr. Peter Schnall, the UCI COEH is making significant contributions in the area of work organization and occupational health. Dr. Schnall is an associate Clinical Professor in the UCI Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine. He directs the UCI COEH program in work organization and cardiovascular disease. He is also the Director of a nonprofit foundation, the Center for Social Epidemiology, based in Santa Monica, California.
Dr. Schnall is a recognized expert on the role of occupational stress in causing hypertension and cardiovascular disease. His research includes a study that demonstrated a significant association between psychosocial stress (e.g., job strain defined as jobs with high demands and low control) and increased cardiac left ventricular mass. More recently his research team has documented a significant association between job strain and ambulatory blood pressure in a prospective cohort study of persons in multiple occupations.
Because of his research, Dr. Schnall has been invited to be the keynote speaker in Japan to address the 208th Regional Scientific Meeting of the Japan Society for Occupational Health in February, 2000. This society is a very traditional one, and most occupational physicians and nurses are members of this society. He will address the topic of the advantages of ambulatory 24-hour monitoring of patients with cardiovascular disease at the work place.
In addition, Dr. Schnall has been working with COEH director Dr. Dean Baker on the preparation of a new monograph titled "The Workplace and Cardiovascular Disease" to be published by Hanley & Belfus in January 2000 as part of their series Occupational Medicine: State of the Art Reviews. Authored by more than 30 experts worldwide, the monograph focuses on the role of the workplace in cardiovascular disease.
There is increasing evidence of the important role of psychosocial stress (i.e., job strain) as well as other workplace factors in the development of hypertension and heart disease. However, dissemination of this knowledge to the medical community, including occupational medicine practitioners, has been limited. This book will help narrow the gap between knowledge and practice.
Finally, Dr. Schnall and the Center for Social Epidemiology coordinate the California Focus Study Group (FSG) on workplace organization. The FSG is a statewide network of researchers who have met six times during the past 18 months to present and discuss research on workplace organization, job stress and participatory research. The objective of FSG is for researchers to share their experiences and to identify new avenues of research to improve workplace organization to achieve a more healthful workplace. Further information about the FSG can be obtained from the UCI COEH at 949-824-8641 or at the Center for Social Epidemiology at 310-319-6595.