Expansion of the New Hampshire Occupational Health Surveillance Program

Details

• Personal Author:
  Armenti K
• Description:
  The New Hampshire Occupational Health Surveillance Program (NH OHSP) moved to the University of New Hampshire in September of 2015, just as the new grant cycle was underway. This move has facilitated the ability to receive academic/institutional supports in conducting research and surveillance activities on worker safety and health issues. The NH OHSP has met its goals of establishing a fundamental state-based occupational health surveillance program and has been successful in tackling a variety of priority occupational safety and health topics. The primary goal of the 2015-2021 program is to enhance state-based capacity for occupational health surveillance in New Hampshire, with a focus on integrating occupational health into mainstream public health through emphasis on intervention and prevention. Specific Aims include: Assess the extent and severity of workplace injuries, illnesses, deaths, hazards and/or exposures; Identify workers and occupations at greatest risk through data collection of industry, occupation, and work status; Develop research and prevention (program) policies through partnerships with public health and non-public health organizations; and Expand outreach and dissemination. The specific aims and objectives of the NH OHSP are framed around the key components of a state-based surveillance program, addressing multiple critical areas of workplace safety and health, disability, and worker well-being. They are intended to identify surveillance trends, emerging issues and diseases, high-risk occupations, industries, and worker populations, promote the integration of occupational safety and health into broader public health goals and objectives (such as infectious and chronic disease), and develop workplace interventions with links to policy initiatives that may impact worker health and safety in New Hampshire. The process of generating indicators increases the consistency and availability of occupational disease and injury surveillance data at the state and national levels. The process of establishing access or linkages to data sources, including the use or development of tools, applications, or processes increase the availability, accessibility, and timeliness of data. OHIs are measures of health (work-related disease or injury) or factors associated with health (workplace exposures, hazards, or interventions) that allow a state to compare its health or risk status with that of other states and evaluate trends over time. This enhances the usefulness of the indicators in policy development, service planning, and evaluation. Work-related injuries and illnesses can be prevented. Successful approaches to making workplaces safer and healthier begin with having the data necessary to understand the problem. Stakeholders who need and will be able to use the results of OHI analysis include, occupational safety and health professionals, NH Department of Health and Human Services, Program Coordinators, the NH Department of Labor, disability service providers, professional and labor organizations in various industries, businesses and trade associations, unions, and legislators and policy makers. Our efforts to date have led to meaningful impacts on occupational safety and health surveillance, epidemiology, public health practice and research activities (both national and state-wide). We developed strong relationships with our NIOSH partners, with our public health partners at NH DHHS, and with agencies that allowed us to access data that was previously untapped for occupational health surveillance (for example, the commercial motor vehicle crash data). We developed audience-specific educational materials, outreach, and other resources for optimizing their application among our partners for protecting workers. We informed legislative efforts on topics tied to worker safety and health and well-being. Major impacts for program period 2015-2021 are highlighted in this report. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Mortality Occupational Health Public Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Fatalities Injuries Public Health Surveillance Programs Worker Health Worker Safety
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Final Cooperative Agreement Report
• Place as Subject:
  New Hampshire ; OSHA Region 1
• 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:
  1-34
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066185
• 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, U60-OH-010910, 2021 Sep; :1-34
• Email:
  karla.armenti@unh.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of New Hampshire, Durham
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20150701
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8122e33d741cd40aa2c707961ce2cd48bd43405fbfe2d6c035f04915d074e5c2d04ba0907394ac247c22357274847c55e9eb0ca18bf2b244c941634ffcd19de5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219147/cdc_219147_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.71 MB ]