Western States Occupational Meeting

Details

• Personal Author:
  Harrison, Robert
• Description:
  The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) has been collaborating with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Western States Division (WSD), and the Mountain and Plains Education and Research Center (MAP ERC) for over eight years in Denver, Colorado to successfully convene and maintain the Western States Occupational Network (WestON), primarily through annual meetings, resource sharing, and ongoing communication among various collaborating partners. The past six years of WestON Meetings have been supported by NIOSH under the R13 conference grant award mechanism. The overall aims of the WestON project are to: Build capacity among the 19 Western states to conduct surveillance of work-related injuries and illnesses, and implement epidemiological capacity in occupational health (OH) at the state level. Develop common priorities for occupational risk assessment, applied epidemiology, worksite interventions and other prevention efforts. Promote scientific collaboration among state-based occupational epidemiologists, NIOSH and academic colleagues in the Western region. Each year, WestON brings together 60-80 participants from the 19 Western States: NIOSH-funded Education and Research Centers (ERCs), Agricultural Centers, and Training Project Grants (TPG); NIOSH Divisions and Branches; Federal, State and Tribal agencies; public health scientists; trainees (students, fellows and residents); and policymakers to present and exchange ideas in a relatively small and informal setting that is conducive to the germination of ideas and collaborative activities. Over the past eight years, WestON topics have moved beyond basic concepts of surveillance to setting strategic priorities for interventions in the Western region and engaging a wider array of partners. Examples include: Collaboration with the NIOSH WSD to track and investigate oil and gas fatalities, a strong interest of several states expanding beyond the Western States. Pennsylvania is partnering with Colorado due to the work that has emerged out of WestON activities. Alaska expressed that the meeting provided practical examples of cutting edge occupational epidemiologic work being performed in other states that may be useful in Alaska. Successfully hosted multiple Association of Environmental and Occupational Clinics Occupational Health Internship Programs in Western States, which facilitated the exploration of emerging OH hazards and further development of state occupational surveillance systems. Introduced digital storytelling to more effectively communicate about various OH issues, including a collaboration between the California Department of Public Health and the Center for Digital Storytelling that led to an OH-focused digital storytelling workshop for aging nurses. Several states comment on the breadth of networking opportunities for collaboration and partnerships the WestON network enables, such as interactions with experts from NIOSH, OSHA, ERCs, TPGs, medical and preventive health clinics, academic institutions, and private sector businesses. The model of the WestON meeting is based on the concept that "regional" identification of common issues can help support the development of occupational epidemiology capacity in states that historically have not had commitment or funding in this core area of public health. The WestON meeting is an important part of a larger coordinated effort to build a nationwide public health system in all states to track, investigate and prevent work-related injuries and diseases. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Occupational Health Public Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Community Based Health Protection Injury Prevention Partnership Public Health Safety Education Safety Programs Surveillance Programs Worker Health
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Georgia ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053015
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2019-101153
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R13-OH-009925, 2016 Oct; :1-8
• Contact Point Address:
  Robert Harrison, MD, MPH, California Department of Public Health, 850 Marina Bay Parkway, Building P, Third Floor, Richmond, CA 94804
• Email:
  Robert.harrison@cdph.ca.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, Atlanta, Georgia
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20100801
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20160731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:38f4e86451e45e855c348fc0420182dedae20145e509e03604bd09d120c3c174c3f3eab69b752fc450986aeca96993fa6fbc5c8a7b62a8b08523d19906f1f149
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218740/cdc_218740_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 337.53 KB ]