Northwest worker safety and health is getting a $6.9-million boost over the next five years thanks to a grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, also known as NIOSH, and the COVID-19 American Rescue Plan.
The grant will support continued efforts of the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, which serves as a regional resource for employers and workers in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho and beyond. The center is co-led by Oregon Health & Science University occupational health researchers Leslie Hammer, Ph.D., and Ryan Olson, Ph.D., and involves OHSU, Portland State University, University of Washington and University of Florida.
The Oregon Healthy Workforce Center is one of 10 NIOSH Centers of Excellence for Total Worker Health® in the U.S. The center conducts intervention-focused research, outreach, education and evaluation activities to improve worker safety, health and well-being, including preventing work-related injuries and illnesses. It was established in 2011, and is based out of the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at OHSU.
The new funding will expand the center’s research and interventions related to:
- Health care worker burnout and well-being
- Firefighter work schedules, cardiovascular health and safety
- Chronic pain among home care workers
This funding will also support the development of a new way to measure organizational well-being within NIOSH’s Total Worker Health framework, which will include working with utilities and manufacturers. Additionally, it will continue to support the center’s ongoing outreach, education and communications efforts.
OHSU faculty and staff who are leading the various projects funded by the new grant include Olson, David Hurtado, Sc.D.; Abigail A. Lenhart, M.D.; Nicole Bowles, Ph.D.; Emily Huang, Ph.D.; Dede Montgomery, M.S., CIH.; and, Anjali Rameshbabu, Ph.D.
More information is in the NIOSH press release.
The Oregon Healthy Workforce Center’s continued work is supported by NIOSH (grant # U19OH010154).