**Editorial to "Worker and Public Health and Safety: Current Views"**

Health and safety in the occupational sector and the general public domain continue to be crucial areas of concern in our ever-advancing technological, demanding, and disease- and disasterprone society. Pandemics, epidemics, public threats, and natural disasters continue to be on the rise. As we progress in the 21st century, worker and public health and safety concerns continue to escalate in many areas, including medical, transportation, security, defence, and multiple other industries and services. These issues have been exacerbated by the current 2020 COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) environment, with the pandemic detrimentally affecting health and safety not only in the work and public sectors, but in all domains of life globally. Therefore, understanding and advancing research into worker and public health and safety is a field that will continue to grow and evolve as mankind and society transitions through large-scale pandemics and natural disasters. The last few decades alone have seen epidemics and pandemics (with some continuing into the present-day) such as the HIV/AIDS, H1N1 Swine Flu, the deadly Ebola outbreak, and Zika Virus, and more recently the novel corona virus COVID-19. Geophysical and other natural disasters linked to global warming also corrode work and public health and safety, without even mentioning the immense financial and emotional burden associated with these catastrophes.

Fatigue and sleepiness, diabetes and metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, mental disorders, cognitive decline, cancer, musculoskeletal disorders are only a few of the many major health issues and concerns inflicting the world, which add substantially to the socio-economic burden. For example, fatigue and sleep disorders are of major concern in the transportation, military, aviation, cleaning, mining, security, and medical sectors. Additionally, shift workers have added vulnerability to circadian rhythm disruption and multiple chronic diseases. The monotonous and demanding nature of many work environment is linked to excessive sleepiness, stress and mental disorders, cognitive decline, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc., which contribute to detrimental human health, errors, accidents, and injuries. The probability of these hazards occurring increases rapidly over consecutive work hours, which can be catastrophic for the worker who may also be responsible for the safety and care of others. Furthermore, those engaged in the cleaning and security industries and work that requires physical exertion and lifting are also burdened with musculoskeletal disorder, pain, and other societal diseases. Moreover, environmental factors and infections also affect health and safety. For example, heat, noise, and pollutants/infections are detrimental for bodily, auditory, and normal respiratory function, respectively.

The compilation of papers in this book is targeted at research and reviews addressing all aspects of "Worker and Public Health and Safety: Current Views". The papers presented here from experts are widely representative of all fields of worker and public health and safety, and constitute original and experimental manuscripts and reviews, etc. The following worker types, work environment, and public sectors are represented, though this list is by no means exhaustive: nursing, the healthcare and medical sectors; video display operators; temporary workers, police officers, correction workers, Chinese public, agriculture, forestry employees; manual cultivation operation; public employees; low-skilled and low-income workers, industrial manufacturing, iron and steel workers, machine operators, work requiring motor skills, sheriffs and recruits, young workers, wind workers, university civil workers and army reserve soldiers, executives, coffee factory workers, and drivers. The topics included can be categorized as follows: sleepiness/fatigue, performance and coping,

working hours, sick leave, burnout in the work environment and medical profession, nursing care, coping, job satisfaction, psychological and mental disorders, stress, anxiety, depression, emotion, driver behaviour, self-efficacy, therapy, exercise, fitness measures in first responders, physical work, musculoskeletal symptoms, spinal injuries, dietary links, obesity, oral health, chronic diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, occupational diseases, illness, job strain, job difficulty and risks, workload, work hazards and work safety, accidents, errors, injuries, risks and management, dust pollution and pesticides, lung function, lung infection, asbestos exposure, blood-borne pathogens, noise, hearing loss, employability and socio-economic and socio-demographic factors, and occupational health. The collection of papers presented in this book helps further the plethora of information available in the ever advancing field of health and safety.

> **Sara Lal** *Editor*

International Journal of *Environmental Research and Public Health*
