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Work Organization and Stress-Related Disorders
Inputs: NIOSH Strategic Goals
The NIOSH Work Organization and Stress-Related Disorders Cross-Sector
Program is in the process of developing strategic goals to
guide our research and partnership efforts over the next decade.
NIOSH previously used priority topic areas (e.g., traumatic
injury, hearing loss) to guide research efforts. Goal-setting within
program areas takes this approach a step further by identifying specific
health and safety outcomes that NIOSH wants to target, intermediate
goals that need to be accomplished to achieve these outcomes, and
performance measures for evaluating progress in meeting both intermediate
and outcome goals. However, the goal-setting process can be challenging
for the following reasons:
- Not every worthwhile goal can be included. Resource limitations
force us to prioritize issues where we think NIOSH can make the
greatest impact.
- Performance in achieving goals can be difficult to measure owing
to limitations of statistics NIOSH can draw upon to assess progress.
For example, exposure and health surveillance data are very limited
for work organization and stress-related disorders.
- As a research agency, NIOSH is commonly unable to influence outcomes
directly. Instead, we must form effective partnerships and influence
other groups to act upon our work to achieve goals.
Recognizing these limitations, the Work Organization and Stress-Related
Disorders Cross-Sector Program has formulated the set of starter goals
listed below. These goals draw upon research and practice needs articulated
in the NIOSH report The
Changing Organization of Work and the Safety and Health of Working
People that was developed by a multidisciplinary team of NIOSH
staff and stakeholders. Additionally, these goals incorporate issues
voiced at NORA town hall and program specific meetings, and needs
arising from other NIOSH/CDC goal-setting activities. In 2007 the
Steering Committee for the Work Organization and Stress-related Disorders
Cross-Sector Program will meet with stakeholders to refine the strategic
goals described here, and define performance measures and expectations
to evaluate progress towards these goals.
Overarching Goal: Promote and protect the health and safety of people who work by preventing stress, illness, and injury related to the organization of work.
Strategic Goal 1: Improve the health and safety of working people through research to better understand work organization risk and protective factors related to stress, illness, and injury in the workplace.
Intermediate goals:
- Develop improved surveillance mechanisms to a) better track changes in the prevalence of work organization factors that represent known risks to safety and health; (b) identify and investigate emergent work organization factors that may present risk; and (c) better understand the distribution of work organization risk factors by sector, occupation, population, etc., to better target research.
- Develop methods to better characterize work organization risk factors for stress, illness and injury in the workplace.
- Identify work organization risk factors for stress, illness, and injury through laboratory research and workplace studies.
- Assess the health and safety consequences and social and economic burden of occupational safety and health problems related to job stress through laboratory research and workplace studies.
Strategic Goal 2: Promote safe and healthy workplaces through work organization interventions and recommendations.
Intermediate goals:
- Develop and evaluate interventions to eliminate or minimize work organization risk factors for stress, illness, and injury and to develop healthy, safer workplaces.
- Transfer work organization research findings and technologies into practice.
- Enhance the relevance and utility of occupational safety and health recommendations and guidance by contributing information on the prevention of work organization risk factors for stress, illness, and injury in the workplace.
Strategic Goal 3: Enhance and sustain worker safety and health through meaningful partnerships and resource/capacity building in work organization.
Intermediate goals:
- Build professional capacity to address work organization risk factors for stress, illness, and injury in the workplace.
- Leverage resources to better investigate and reduce work organization risk factors for stress, illness, and injury through strategic alliances with stakeholders in occupational safety and health.
- Promote development of, access to, and utilization of databases on work organization factors related to stress, illness, and injury to improve worker health and safety.
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NIOSH Program Portfolio:
Work Organization and Stress-Related Disorders
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