Pop-Up 1

The success of occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) as a profession depends on cutting-edge research, training, and practical application-elements of a self-improving, evolving system. With the ever-increasing pace of new materials being introduced into commerce, identification of those workers producing and utilizing these materials provides an opportunity for research on exposures and outcomes that can help provide the technical basis for health protection programs. The members of AIHA and ACGIH are OEHS professionals and academics who identify gaps both in research and the ways practitioners implement health and safety in the workplace, and it is the Defining the Science (DTS) Initiative which provides a defined process for helping researchers investigate areas of research that have been identified by members and allied stakeholders and supports the incorporation of results from this research into everyday OEHS practice.

Since its inception, the DTS-Advisory Group (DTS-AG) has led to the development of many initiatives including the Improving Exposure Judgment Accuracy, Principles of Good Practice, State of the Art vs. Practice, and the Continuous Improvement Plan. Additionally, research ideas presented to the DTS-AG and shared with the Thermal Stress and Dermal and Surface Sampling Working Groups have led to the development and use of a Heat Stress Application, the Physiological Monitoring to Assess Heat Strain publication through Content Portfolio Advisory Group (CPAG), and the Occupational and Environmental Exposure of Skin to Chemicals (OEESC).

This session will describe the AIHA Advancing the Science and Practice Defining the Science (DTS) Initiative and the role of the DTS-Advisory Group, highlight important outcomes of the DTS Initiative and lessons learned, and present what the DTS-AG has planned for the immediate future and how AIHA and ACGIH members and allied stakeholders can participate and support the DTS Initiative. 

The number of clinical studies utilizing active genetically modified lytic viruses to treat cancer has been steadily increasing. As pharmacists and healthcare professionals do not typically prepare and administer live biologics, the use of these investigational products poses unique challenges for healthcare institutions. To prevent exposure to these investigational products, healthcare institutions need to ensure the healthcare workforce is aware of the unique hazards posed by these investigational drugs, the associated exposure risks, the controls designed to mitigate these risks, and the procedures to follow when incidents occur. This presentation will cover two oncolytic viruses that were utilized to treat cancer and will further discuss how I partnered with healthcare personnel to ensure these investigational drugs could be safely prepared and delivered to study participants.

Impact Statement:
Hospital Administrations must recognize the need to ensure Oncology is notified when novel biologics will be utilized to treat study participants or patients. Though this notification, Oncology nurses and educators will have the information necessary to train oncology staff on the hazards associated with oncolytic viruses, the exposure risk posed by these agents, the controls needed to mitigate these risks, and the procedures to follow when spills and exposures occur.