Psychosocial and Community Health: PCH Faculty

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PCH: Faculty

Butch deCastro, PhD, MSN/MPH, RN
Assistant Professor
Director, Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing Program
Psychosocial & Community Health
Box 357263
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195

Email Address: butchdec@u.washington.edu


Dr. de Castro received a bachelor's degree in Nursing from UCLA. He completed his doctoral and master's level training at The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health specializing in occupational and environmental health. He was also a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. His primary research interests include occupational health issues among minority and immigrant workers, work organization, and emotional labor. He also has extensive experience in national-level occupational health policy from both labor and government perspectives. He served as senior staff for occupational and environmental health at the American Nurses Association and, prior to this, was on staff in the Office of Occupational Health Nursing at the national office of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Dr. de Castro has been recognized with awards for promising occupational health researchers such as the New Investigator Award from the American Association for Occupational Health Nurses Foundation and the James P. Keogh Award from the American Public Health Association, Occupational Health and Safety Section. And, most recently, he was selected for the Clinical Research Career Development Scholars Program funded by the National Institutes of Health through the University of Washington. He is an active member of the American Public Health Association (serving currently as Governing Councilor of the Occupational Health & Safety Section and past Chair of the Asian & Pacific Islander Caucus), the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, and the American Nurses Association/Washington State Nurses Association.
Selected Publications: de Castro AB, Fujishiro K, Schweitzer E, Oliva J. How immigrant workers experience workplace problems: A qualitative study. Archives of Environmental and Occupational Health: An International Journal. [In press] de Castro, AB, Hagan PC, Nelson A. Prioritizing Safe Patient Handling: The American Nurses Association's Handle With Care Campaign. Journal of Nursing Administration. 2006;36(7-8):363-369. de Castro AB, Curbow B, Agnew J, Haythornthwaite JA, Fitzgerald ST. Measuring emotional labor among young workers: Refinement of the Emotions at Work Scale. American Association for Occupational Health Nursing Journal. 2006;54(5):210-218. de Castro AB. Handle with care: The American Nurses Association’s campaign to address work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Bone and Mineral Metabolism. 2006;4(1):45-54. (Reprinted from Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 9(3), Manuscript 2.) West C, de Castro AB, Fitzgerald ST. The youth workforce: Unique occupational health considerations and challenges. American Association for Occupational Health Nursing Journal. 2005;53(7):297-305. de Castro AB, Agnew J, Fitzgerald ST. Emotional labor: Relevant theory for occupational health practice in post-industrial America. American Association for Occupational Health Nursing Journal. 2004;52(3):109-115.

Current Projects

Education and Research Center (Key Personnel)
Health and Occupations among Philippine Emigrants (HOPE) Study – Nurses Pilot (Principal Investigator)

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