Using Respirators to Protect Worker Health
About the research Heading link
Dr. Margaret Sietsema is an assistant professor in environmental and occupational health sciences. She received her PhD from UIC in industrial hygiene in 2015, after which she spent a year as a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention Fellow at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), before returning to UIC as a research assistant professor from 2016 to 2019.
Sietsema’s research focuses on two key areas–pandemic preparedness and real-time respirator fit methods and instrumentation. Since returning to UIC, Sietsema has continued to work with NIOSH and CDC colleagues on selection methods that prioritize respiratory protection for workers in high-risk categories during infectious disease outbreaks (e.g., pandemic influenza).
Sietsema’s doctoral work focused on developing and testing new real-time methods for assessing respirator fit during simulated healthcare tasks. Since returning to UIC, she has expanded this research interest in several ways. With an SPH seed funding grant and in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Iowa and an instrument manufacturer, she has assessed an innovative wearable particle sensor that can be easily deployed during work activities to assess real-time fit. She received a NIOSH innovation award to further validate this sensor. She plans to write a research project grant in the near future to undertake measurements of respirator fit during real-world workplace activities.
Another area of interest is podcasting to explore the broader impact of work on health. In monthly episodes of “Bread Roses,” Sietsema and Dr. Julia Lippert, assistant professor of health sciences at DePaul University, dive deep into how public and corporate policies affect workers from a historical perspective. Named after a union slogan used during the 1912 textile strike, the podcast tries to demystify work and to build connections between different types of workers. To listen, visit soundcloud.com and search for Bread Roses.