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NIOSH Programs > Traumatic Injury > NIOSH Research Projects
Traumatic InjuryActivities: NIOSH Research ProjectsThe NIOSH Traumatic Injury Research Program conducts research via the public health approach, which follows a problem-solving process that begins with the identification of leading traumatic injury causes and events via surveillance; identification of risk and causal factors through investigations and analytic research; the identification and development of prevention and control strategies and technologies through engineering research; and the evaluation of strategies, programs, interventions, and technologies. The elements of this model include the following:
The following selected projects are described to provide an idea of the range of research activities involved in NIOSH traumatic occupational injury research. Selection of Current Intramural Traumatic Injury Research ProjectsInjury SurveillanceNational Surveillance of Nonfatal Occupational Injuries Using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance SystemThis project collects nationally representative, timely, nonfatal occupational injury surveillance data by using a sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which is conducted collaboratively with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, collects demographics of the injured worker and a description of the injury event. National estimates of all work-related traumatic injuries can be made, as well as estimates for injuries to special populations (e.g., children, women, African-Americans), injury events (e.g., falls), and types of injuries (e.g., eye injuries). Detailed telephone follow-back investigations provide additional information about injury circumstances, worker characteristics, safety precautions, and injury perceptions. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System is used to identify and characterize the U.S. work-related injury burden, direct research, and intervention efforts, and help establish occupational safety and health policy. Program contact: Larry Jackson Childhood Agricultural Injury SurveillanceThe project purpose, under NIOSH child agriculture injury prevention initiative, is to conduct surveillance of childhood agricultural injuries. NIOSH is collecting childhood agricultural injury data through two approaches: farm operator surveys conducted in collaboration with the National Agricultural Statistics Service and personal interviews of farm workers using the U.S. Department of Labor's National Agricultural Workers Survey. The farm operator surveys include a minority-specific component. NIOSH will also conduct periodic analyses of the Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, the National Center for Health Statistics' Vital Statistics Mortality data, death certificates from State vital statistics registrars, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. This project provides important information for prioritizing research and intervention programs needed to reduce childhood agricultural injuries in the future. Project contact: John Myers Injury Causation ResearchBiomechanical and Physiological Study of Firefighter BootsThe primary objective of this study is to determine the effect of boot weight and design on firefighters’ biomechanical and physiological responses. Twenty-five female and 25 male firefighters will be recruited and tested for physiological and biomechanical responses while performing several simulated firefighting tasks (ladder climbing, carrying a charged hose line, and dragging a 150-lb dummy) in the laboratory. Expected outcomes include (1) an evaluation of the effects of boot weight and boot material (rubber versus leather) on both men and women firefighters’ oxygen consumption, joint loading, dynamic balance, and gait characteristics, and (2) input provided to the National Fire Protection Association 1971 standards committee (Protective Ensemble for Structural Fire Fighting) to revise and update its standards. Such information will also be useful for boot manufacturers (national and international) to design and improve the performance and comfort of common structural firefighting, station wear, and emergency response boots. Project contact: Sharon Chiou Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation ProjectThe purpose of the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Project is to identify work environments which place workers at high risk for fatal injury, identify potential risk factors, and formulate and disseminate prevention strategies to those who can intervene in the workplace. Investigation findings and prevention recommendations are incorporated into health communication documents for broad dissemination and are used by employers to increase worker safety, by manufacturers to modify machinery and equipment to increase worker safety, and by OSHA and other organizations in the promulgation of safety standards and compliance directives. Project contact: Virgil Casini, Jr. Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention ProgramIn FY1998, Congress recognized the need for further efforts to address the continuing problem of occupational fire fighter fatalities, and funded NIOSH to conduct investigations of line-of-duty fire fighter traumatic deaths in order to make recommendations for preventing occupational deaths and serious injuries among the nation's 1.1 million fire fighters. Narrative reports with recommendations for preventing future similar deaths and summary documents for specific hazards and topics (e.g., structural collapse, diver training) are broadly distributed by posting on the NIOSH Web site, reprinting in trade journals, and mailings to the 35,000 fire departments around the nation. Project contact: Tim Merinar Prevention and ControlLab Testing of Adjustable Safety Rail-Roof Bracket AssemblyThis project will test a NIOSH-designed adjustable safety rail-roof bracket assembly that can be used by construction workers to prevent falls during work at heights or around roof openings. This design will permit the installation of a protective guardrail system around openings or skylights on flat commercial or industrial roofs, and on residential roofs with six different slopes, ranging from 6:12 (27 degrees) to 24:12 (63 degrees). NIOSH is seeking participation from a manufacturing partner. With input from NIOSH researchers, the manufacturer will develop a final design that meets applicable OSHA requirements. When commercially available, this fall-prevention technology will have an immediate opportunity to reduce the frequency of traumatic injuries experienced by the construction workforce. Project contact: Thomas Bobick Communication/Dissemination/Technology TransferTransfer Evaluation Results into Road Construction PracticeThis multi-disciplinary Public Health Practice will provide the road construction industry with tools to reduce the risk of workers from being struck by construction vehicles and equipment operating inside work spaces of roadway construction projects. This project provides NIOSH an opportunity to work with key stakeholders to identify products and define target audiences; conduct market research to determine the most effective modes of product delivery; and work with design and layout professionals to package information. Products will be developed from among the following key topic areas: blind areas around construction equipment, proximity warning devices, internal traffic control plans, safe paving practices, and/or measuring worker exposure to an injury hazard. The long-term goal for this project is to maximize diffusion of road construction safety research results to effect improvements in worker safety in road construction work zones. Project contact: David Fosbroke EvaluationSafety Intervention Evaluation in a Helicopter PlantThis collaborative evaluation project effort between NIOSH and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation was initiated to document the process, effectiveness, and return on investment of safety program interventions to reduce musculoskeletal and traumatic injuries at Sikorsky Aircraft’s Stratford, CT helicopter manufacturing plant. Interventions include the installation of overhead lifts to assist in moving heavy parts from material bins and carts to work stations, special portable lifts to transfer parts from bins to machines, special carts for transfer of parts and removal of parts to reduce exposures, and redesign of selected work stations to reduce awkward postures. Project contact: Harlan Amandus Ambulance Crash Survivability Improvement ProjectThe objective of this NORA project is to reduce or eliminate vehicle crash-related injuries and fatalities to emergency service workers in ambulance patient compartments by increasing user acceptance of mobile occupant restraints tested by NIOSH’s Division of Safety Research; improving the layout of the patient compartment; and improving the overall structural integrity of the patient compartment and equipment mounting hardware. A human factors evaluation will be used to evaluate impediments to occupant restraint use. The ambulance patient compartment will then be reconfigured to strengthen equipment mounts and improve worker access to equipment. The project is expected to provide interventions to improve ambulance crash-worthiness and crash survivability for Emergency Medical Services workers, including fire fighters who frequently provide emergency care in ambulances. Project contact: Paul Moore Page last updated: August 22, 2008
Page last reviewed: August 22, 2008 Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Division of Safety Research |
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NIOSH Program Portfolio:Traumatic Injury |
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