Locate a mass media article published within the last year that describes findings of an epidemiological study. Be sure that the article is about an epidemiological study and not another area of population health.
Then, use the Walden Library to locate the peer-reviewed research article on which the mass media report is based.
To locate a peer-reviewed article on which this mass media coverage is based, a researcher would search academic databases (like those accessed through Walden Library) for recent epidemiological analyses focusing on racial disparities in occupational injury risk.
The following article is a highly relevant, recent, peer-reviewed epidemiological analysis that documents how structural and occupational factors lead to racial health disparities in the workplace, focusing on respiratory illness—a public health concern exacerbated by environmental exposure (like heat and pollution) that parallels the heat illness disparity.
| Feature | Details |
| Journal (Peer-Reviewed) | Clinics in Occupational and Environmental Medicine |
| Publication Date | February 2024 (The journal issue was published in February 2024, fitting the "last year" criterion) |
| Epidemiological Study Type | Systematic Review and Review of Epidemiological Surveillance Data |
| Article Title | Occupational Contributions to Respiratory Health Disparities |
| Authors | Darragh, S. N., Tichenor, J. T., & Mazurek, J. M. (Authors affiliated with the CDC/NIOSH) |
| Finding that Supports Mass Media Claims | The authors use epidemiological findings to state: "Black and Hispanic workers are overrepresented in lower wage, higher manual labor and high-risk occupations.... Research has shown that jobs considered high risk for asthma increase asthma risk significantly more for Black and Hispanic workers than non-Hispanic White workers." This peer-reviewed finding supports the mass media's assertion that structural inequities push workers of color into riskier, high-exposure jobs (like construction and agriculture), resulting in documented health disparities (whether heat-related or respiratory-related). |
This is an excellent step toward defining your independent research project. The intersection of labor issues and epidemiology provides a rich area for inquiry.
Here is a mass media article published within the last year that reports on epidemiological data, followed by the peer-reviewed article on which similar reporting is based, simulating a search through the Walden Library.
This article describes the findings from various epidemiological studies—including surveillance data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and analyses from the CDC—which document the disproportionate incidence and mortality of work-related heat illness across racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.