Differences in the impact of precarious employment on health across population subgroups: a scoping review.

AIM: Precarious employment is known to be detrimental to health, and some population subgroups (young individuals, migrant workers, and females) are at higher risk of precarious employment. However, it is not known if the risk to poor health outcomes is consistent across population subgroups. This scoping review explores differential impacts of precarious employment on health. METHODS: Relevant studies published between 2009 and February 2019 were identified across PubMed, OVID Medline, PsycINFO, and Scopus. Articles were included if (1) they presented original data, (2) examined precarious employment within one of the subpopulations of interest, and (3) examined health outcomes. RESULTS: Searches yielded 279 unique results, of which 14 met the eligibility criteria. Of the included studies, 12 studies examined differences between gender, 3 examined the health impacts on young individuals, and 3 examined the health of migrant workers. Mental health was explored in nine studies, general health in four studies, and mortality in two studies. CONCLUSION: Mental health was generally poorer in both male and female employees as a result of precarious employment, and males were also at higher risk of mortality. There was limited evidence that met our inclusion criteria, examining the health impacts on young individuals or migrant workers.

Health and mass unemployment events-developing a framework for preparedness and response.

BACKGROUND: Mass unemployment events are not uncommon yet the impact on health is not well recognised. There is a need for a preparedness and response framework, as exists for other events that threaten population health. METHODS: Framework informed by a narrative review of the impact of mass unemployment on health (studies published in English from 1990 to 2016), and qualitative data from 23 semi-structured interviews with individuals connected to historical national and international events, addressing gaps in published literature on lessons learnt from past responses. RESULTS: Economic and employment shock triggered by mass unemployment events have a detrimental impact on workers, families and communities. We present a public health informed response framework which includes (i) identify areas at risk, (ii) develop an early warning system, (iii) mobilise multi-sector action including health and community, (iv) provision of support across employment, finance and health (v) proportionate to need, (vi) extend support to family members and (vii) communities and (viii) evaluate and learn. CONCLUSION: Mass unemployment events have an adverse impact on the health, financial and social circumstances of workers, families, and communities. This is the first framework for action to mitigate and address the detrimental impact of mass unemployment events on population health.

Substrates enriched by the fungus Cunninghamella echinulata: an in vitro study of nutrient composition, sheep rumen fermentation and lipid metabolism.

AIMS: Enrichment of wheat bran (WB), corn meal (CM) and barley flakes (BF) with the oleaginous fungus Cunninghamella echinulata (CE) might lead to effective use of these by-products in ruminant nutrition. We examined their effects on rumen fermentation and lipid metabolism. METHODS AND RESULTS: WB, CM and BF substrates without or with brewer's grains (WBG, CMG, BFG) and enriched with CE were incubated with meadow hay (MH, 500 : 500, w/w) in rumen fluid in vitro for 24 h. The dry matter of the CE-enriched substrates increased (by 2-4%); however, digestibility decreased (P < 0·01). Adverse effects of CE-enriched substrates on the rumen ciliate population were observed. Little effect on the rumen eubacterial population was detected by the 16S-polymerase chain reaction/denaturizing gradient gel electrophoresis method. The increase in γ-linolenic acid output in the MH + BFGCE diet (800 : 200, w/w) was accompanied by an increase in rumen biohydrogenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. CONCLUSION: The diet substrates enriched with the fungus CE were less digestible than the untreated cereal substrates; no appreciable positive effect was observed on rumen fermentation patterns or the eubacterial and ciliate populations. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The in vitro study showed that adding CE-enriched substrates to ruminant diets is not effective for improving rumen fermentation.