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Occupational Health Psychology
Welcome to the Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) Homepage. NIOSH has an active interest in promoting the new field of OHP. On this page you will find information on upcoming OHP conferences, links to schools that offer graduate-level training in OHP, an OPH bibliography, and more.



What is OHP?

Many psychologists have argued that the psychology field needs to take a more active role in research and practice to prevent occupational stress, illness, and injury. This is what the new field of Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) is all about. Although research and practice in OHP may cover a wide range of topics, NIOSH has urged that this new field give special attention to the primary prevention of organizational risk factors for stress, illness, and injury at work. This viewpoint is expressed in the NIOSH-proposed definition of OHP: OHP concerns the application of psychology to improving the quality of work life, and to protecting and promoting the safety, health and well-being of workers. The notion of health "protection" in this definition refers to intervention in the work environment to reduce worker exposures to workplace hazards, while health "promotion" refers to individual-level interventions to equip workers with knowledge and resources to improve their health and thereby resist hazards in the work environment. Although both of these types of interventions can be defined as primary prevention, the NIOSH-proposed definition places priority on health protection. OHP is especially concerned with the dramatic transformation of work and employment that has been underway in industrial economies since the 1980s (e.g., flexible employment and production processes), and how changing organizational structures and processes are influencing the health and well-being of workers and their families. Refer to the articles listed under the OHP Bibliography for a more extensive discussion of this emerging field.

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NIOSH - APA Contributions to OHP

In the period 1990-1999, NIOSH and the APA launched a series of initiatives to promote the new field of OHP. Four international conferences on work, stress and health were convened and the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology was founded in 1996. Of special importance, a program has been implemented to support both post-doctoral and graduate level training in OHP at major universities. These programs have strong interdepartmental linkages which expose psychology students to topics and methods in occupational safety and health, and provide opportunities for practica, or internships in actual workplaces. The core curricula in these training programs usually includes coursework addressing the following topics:
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OHP Graduate Training Programs

Funds provided by a five-year cooperative agreement between NIOSH and the APA have enabled several universities to initiate the development of curriculum in OHP. University programs are at various stages in the development and implementation of their course offerings. Interested students should contact the primary faculty of the universities for additional information.

Bowling Green State University

Drs. Carlla Smith and William O’Brien of the psychology department have developed a graduate minor in OHP as part of the existing I/O and clinical psychology programs. The minor will consist of coursework, research, and supervised practicum experiences. Bowling Green’s psychology department is collaborating with the Environmental Health Program in the College of Health and Human Services.

Click here to go to the Bowling Green State University OHP program website

 

Clemson University

Dr. James McCubbin is heading an interdisciplinary faculty effort to develop graduate training in OHP at Clemson University. The psychology department has organized an OHP minor for students in their I-O PhD program. Training in OHP is also available as a concentration in their MS program in Applied Psychology. An integral part of those programs is the Survey of OHP course that utilizes problem based learning and realistic case studies to develop disciplinary knowledge and problem solving skills in OHP.

Click here to go to the Clemson University OHP program website


Colorado State University

Supported by the American Psychological Association and National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, the CSU psychology department established an Occupational Health Psychology concentration for graduate students in 2001. The concentration consists of two critical and unique components: science and practice, with the mission of training graduate students in different areas (e.g., ergonomics, clinical psychology, work psychology, etc.) to master research, theory, and practice in OHP. Two OHP courses (Prevention of occupational illness and injuries, and Occupational health psychology) have been developed and are offered every other year since 2002. Several funded interdisciplinary OHP projects are conducted by faculty and students. Any inquiry about OHP courses or research projects can be directed to Professor Lorann Stallones or Peter Chen.

Click here to go to the Colorado State University OHP program website


Kansas State University

Kansas State University (KSU) has fully implemented a graduate certificate in OHP. The four three-credit hour courses that are required for the completion of the certificate are offered online in a distance format. Students can enroll for each class at their convenience and will be granted the certificate upon completion of the four-course sequence. This involves a proseminar survey of the field, a seminar on key topics, a review of relevant research methods, and a practicum/internship in OHP.

Click here to go to the Kansas State University OHP program website


Portland State University

Leslie Hammer and Bob Sinclair are co-directing the OHP program at Portland State. The OHP minor consists of a survey course that provides students with an introduction to the field of OHP, a course on Work and Well-Being, as well as an overview survey course on Occupational Safety and Health. In addition to these required courses, students take an Organizational Psychology course and two electives in the area. Finally, students complete a required OHP internship and a dissertation in an area of OHP. This program is supported by an advisory board made up of experts in the fields of Occupational Health and Safety, Psychology, and Labor Education.

Click here to go to the Portland State University OHP program website


Tulane University

Drs. Michael Burke and Sue Ann Sarpy, are directing the development and implementation of two interdisciplinary courses in OHP, including a survey course on OHP principles and a course on the principles and techniques of health and safety training. The development of the courses are intended to lead to the development of an interdisciplinary Master of Science degree program in OHP and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. degree program in OHP, respectively. Courses will be offered to those in the psychology department, as well as programs in environmental health sciences, industrial hygiene, occupational health and safety management, and health systems management.

Click here to go to the Tulane University OHP program website


University of California at Los Angeles

Drs. Judith Siegel, Rena Repetti and Peter Schnall have developed a course titled "Work and Health" (CHS 278). The course is intended to be the first in a new minor introducing graduate students in the SPH and ERC (NIOSH Education Research Center) to issues regarding the role of work organization, and psychosocial factors in the development of mental and physical health problems of working people. The current course introduces students to the latest psychosocial stress models (e.g., job strain), documents their impact on mental and physical health (e.g., hypertension) and provides students through a practicum with hands-on skills at worksite assessment to identify the presence of these putative risk factors. This course is part of a larger initiative being conducted by the Southern California Centers for Occupational and Environmental Health on Psychosocial factors in the work environment titled STEP (for surveillance, training and early prevention). See www.workhealth.org for more details.

Click here to go to the UCLA OHP program website

 

University of Connecticut

Rob Henning (I/O Psychology), Vicki Magley (I/O Psychology), and Nick Warren (Ergonomics Technology Center, University of Connecticut Health Center) have established a new doctoral training program in "Work Organization and Health Psychology." This scientist-practitioner model of training within Industrial/Organizational Psychology includes a graduate certificate consisting of an OSH proseminar, field methods, lab or field research plus elective courses such as ergonomics and organizational stress. In addition to financial support from the I/O Division, students receive fellowship support to engage in OSH research over summer. Multidisciplinary research themes include the macroergonomics of hazard management and musculoskeletal disorders, gender discrimination and workplace civility, rest break schedules during computer-mediated work, health psychophysiology of work teams, and utility analyses for OSH programs.

Click here to go to the University of Connecticut OHP program website


University of Houston

Drs. Lois Tetrick and Barbara Ellis will lead the initiative to establish a specialty area of graduate study in OHP in the psychology department. They are currently developing a survey course in OHP for graduate students and individuals holding a doctorate in psychology who want additional training in OHP. Additionally, they are coordinating a series of lectures and workshops for faculty and graduate students to provide the basis for the development of an OHP methodology course. Faculty in industrial engineering and the Health Law and Policy Institute will collaborate with the psychology department to support the training program.

Click here to go to the University of Houston OHP program website


University of Minnesota

Dr. Jo-Ida Hansen directs the Occupational Health Psychology emphasis in the psychology department. The curriculum has an interdisciplinary focus, and courses may be drawn from psychology, environmental and occupational health, speech communications, industrial relations, human resources, educational psychology, and kinesiology. The Vocational and Occupational Health Psychology course provides an introduction to the psychology component and the psychological perspective within the field of occupational health. The Vocational and Occupational Health Psychology Research Seminar offers an opportunity to explore the OHP research literature in depth. The Career and Occupational Health Psychology Assessment Seminar provides an overview of instruments used by vocational and OHP psychologists. For those interested in applied practice, there are courses in therapeutic theories, interventions, ethics, and cultural diversity.

Click here to go to the University of Minnesota OHP program website


University of South Florida

Drs. Tammy Allen and Paul Spector (Psychology) and Teri Albrecht and Yehia Hammad (Public Health) have created an interdisciplinary concentration in OHP bridging coursework in psychology and public health. The psychology coursework includes a graduate seminar in OHP and a graduate seminar in careers; public health coursework consists of a course in risk communication and an elective. The current purpose of the program is to provide OHP training for students in psychology (mainly clinical and industrial/organizational), public health, and other fields.

Click here to go to the University of South Florida OHP program website


University of Texas at Austin

Charles J. Holahan, Ph.D., and James W. Pennebaker, Ph.D., are directing the development and implementation of an Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) training track in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. The OHP training track has four components: 1) a Seminar in Occupational Health Psychology, 2) a Research Practicum in Occupational Health Psychology, 3) an Intervention Practicum in Occupational Health Psychology, and 4) an interdisciplinary minor in Occupational Health Psychology. Students completing the OHP training track are graduate students in the Department of Psychology, typically in the Clinical or Social Psychology Programs.

Click here to go to the University of Texas at Austin OHP program website

 


Other OHP Training Programs


University of Nottingham

The Occupational Health Psychology Group is managed by Dr. Amanda Griffiths and Professor Tom Cox. It is generally concerned with psychosocial and organizational issues in occupational and environmental health, and has particular interests in relation to work stress and related organizational level interventions, risk management for work stress, musculoskeletal disorders, the measurement and management of absence, and aging, work and health.

Click here to go to the University of Nottingham OHP program website


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OHP Listserve

A listserve is a discussion group conducted via electronic mail. The OHPLIST serves as a vehicle for discussion among individuals interested in occupational health psychology. To subscribe, send the following message to listserv@lists.apa.org:

SUBSCRIBE OHPLIST Jane Doe

(change "Jane Doe" to your name)

After sending this message you will soon receive an email explaining how the OHPLIST works, and how you can participate in the discussion.

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OHP Conferences


March 2-4, 2006
Sixth International Conference on Occupational Stress and Health:
Work, Stress, and Health 2006: Making a Difference in the Workplace

   (Continuing Education Workshops will be held on March 1, 2006.)
Hyatt Regency Miami Hotel
Miami, Florida

Co-Sponsors:
    American Psychological Association
    National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
    National Institute of Justice
    National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
    U.S. Department of Labor

Contact:
    Wesley Baker
    Conference Coordinator
    American Psychological Association
    Women's Programs Office
    750 First Street, NE
    Washington, DC 20002-4242
    Phone: 202-336-6033
    Fax: 202-336-6117
    Email: wbaker@apa.org


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Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology The Journal of Occupational Health Psychology publishes research, theory, and public policy articles in occupational health psychology, an interdisciplinary field representing a broad range of backgrounds, interests, and specializations. Occupational health psychology concerns the application of psychology to improving the quality of worklife and to protecting and promoting the safety, health, and well-being of workers. The Journal has a threefold focus on the work environment, the individual and the work family interface. The Journal seeks scholarly articles, from both researchers and practitioners, concerning psychological factors in relationship to all aspects of occupational health. Included in this broad domain of interest are articles in which work-related psychological factors play a role in the etiology of health problems, articles examining the psychological and associated health consequences of work, and articles concerned with the use of psychological approaches to prevent or mitigate occupational health problems. Special attention is given to articles with a prevention emphasis. Manuscripts dealing with issues of contemporary relevance to the workplace, especially with regard to minority, cultural, or occupationally underrepresented groups, or topics at the interface of the family and the workplace are encouraged. Each article should represent an addition to knowledge and understanding of occupational health psychology.

Click here to go to the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology's Website



These journals also publish articles in the area of OHP:


Journal of Organizational Behavior

Work and Stress



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OHP Bibliography


1. Adkins, J.A. (1999). Promoting organizational health: The evolving practice of occupational health psychology. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 30:2, 129-137.

2. Quick, J.C. (1999). Occupational health psychology: The convergence of health and clinical Psychology With Public Health and preventive medicine in an organizational context. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 30:2, 123-128.

3. Raymond J.S., Wood D.W. & Patrick W.D. (1990). Psychology training in work and health. American Psychologist 45 1159-61.

4. Sauter, S.L. & Hurrell, J.J. (1999). Occupational health psychology: Origins, content, and direction. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 30:2 117-122.

5. Sauter, S.L., Hurrell, J.J., Jr., Roberts-Fox, H., Tetrick, L.E., & Barling, J. (1999). Occupational health psychology: An emerging discipline. Industrial Health, 37, 199-211.

6. Schneider, D.L., Camara, W.J., Tetrick, L.E., & Stenberg, C.R. (1999) Training in Occupational Health Psychology: Initial Efforts and Alternative Models. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 30:2, 138-142.

7. Westlander, G. (1994) Training of psychologists in occupational health work: Ten years of course development- Experience and future perspectives. Eur Work Org Psychology 4, 189-202.



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This page was last updated on September 15, 2004

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