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NIOSH Program Portfolio

 

Health Care and Social Assistance

Inputs: Partners

Partnerships

Partnerships are integral to the NIOSH Program for the HCSA sector and are the best means of achieving successful outcomes. Input from customers and stakeholder groups, which have inherent knowledge and concern about the health and safety of workers in the sector, helps in setting research priorities. Collaborative research with our partners may include in-kind contributions which help to leverage NIOSH research dollars. Partners also add expertise or specialized experience to the research team, which benefits the research, analysis, interpretation, and communication of the results.

NIOSH is currently partnering with many organizations representing industry, labor, government and others to advance health and safety research in the HSCA Sector. While there are too many partners to list here, we plan to provide a revolving list which will be updated periodically to identify all of our current partners. We invite partnerships in advancing the NIOSH research that will lead to reductions in occupational illnesses and injuries in the HCSA sector.

The NIOSH Program for HCSA collaborates and works closely with a broad spectrum of constituents representing this sector. Our stakeholders and customers represent industry, labor, academia, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and professional organizations both domestic and international. These organizations may be research partners, as described in the previous section. They may also be users of our technology and scientific findings, peer reviewers, recipients of research grants and contracts, or sources of equipment, technology, or knowledge for advancing research in this sector.

For information about partnering with the NIOSH Health Care and Social Assistance Program, contact the Health Care and Social Assistance Program Coordinator. For general information about partnerships with NIOSH, contact the NIOSH Office of Research and Technology Transfer.
The following list of stakeholders and customers conveys the wide range of organizations served by the NIOSH Program for HCSA.

  • In January 2006, NIOSH and the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc., agreed to partner in research and outreach activities to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses. Partnership initiatives defined in the agreement include: 1) identifying priority research needs in the occupational and environmental health nursing community, and the workplaces and communities they address; 2) translating relevant research findings into effective products that address worker health and safety needs, and disseminating products to partner organizations that can put them into practice; 3) developing and disseminating information at appropriate conferences, and communicating information through diverse media; and 4) sharing injury statistics information to identify research and intervention needs.
  • NIOSH and The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) have agreed to use their current and future collaborative efforts and expertise to promote best practices associated with workplace safety and health issues in the perioperative setting. These parties agree to gather, evaluate, document and share information related to current and emerging workplace safety and health issues throughout the United States. NIOSH is currently partnering with AORN to develop an ergonomic guideline for prevention of MSDs for physically demanding tasks performed by nurses in operating rooms, such as patient handling, pushing/pulling objects, lifting objects, and holding retractors, etc.
  • NIOSH Researchers and American Medical Response have agreed to collaboratively conduct research to describe the scope of the ambulance crash-related injury problem for Emergency Medical Service (EMS) workers.
  • NIOSH is working with the American Nurses Association (ANA), Veterans Affairs (VA), and the University of Florida to develop and evaluate a Safe Patient Handling and Movement training package for use by schools of nursing.  The training module provides information about identifying high risk patient handling tasks and how to perform the tasks using technology to reduce risk of MSDs.
    Draft Document for Public Review and Comment: Safe Patient Handling and Movement Principles
  • NIOSH is collaborating with multiple stakeholders to develop a series of control guidance sheets that deal with specific situations in gastroenterology. Each sheet identifies a particular process or operation and provides guidance on controlling exposure and managing the chemical. The guidance can be engineering design or controls, work practices or personal protective equipment recommendations. NIOSH partners in this effort include:
    • The Dow Chemical Company
    • Kaiser Permanente, MediSHARE Environmental Health and Safety Services
    • Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (SGNA)
    • UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Academia

NIOSH has provided funding to academic institutions to conduct research on various aspects of health care worker safety and health. Some of these organizations include Duke University, Columbia University, Yeshiva University, The University of Maryland, and John Hopkins University .

The University of Kansas School of Nursing - The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicator Program of the University of Kansas School of Nursing provides input for study methods for the NIOSH research into the health and safety outcomes related to work schedules in nurses. They also recruited hospitals for the study and communicated with study sites.

The University of Maryland School of Nursing - The University of Maryland School of Nursing faculty are collaborating with NIOSH researchers to develop future research efforts focused on interventions for nurses to address fatigue and work schedules.

Government

NIOSH has historically collaborated with other elements within CDC, which have recently been organized into Coordinating Centers. NIOSH is working with the Division of Health Quality Promotion on several activities including: the implementation of the research agenda and action plan developed at the National Sharps Injury Prevention meeting; providing support and evaluation on the National Clinicians' Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Hotline (PEPline) and collaborating on the existing and proposed studies related to respiratory protection.

NIOSH has been a collaborative partner with the National Center for HIV, Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) and TB Prevention in its efforts to prevent the transmission of TB in the workplace. NIOSH has provided leadership in the development of the Respiratory Protection and Engineering Control Guidance for the prevention of the transmission of TB in health care and correctional facilities.

NIOSH has provided testimony to OSHA related to health issues such as BBPs and TB.

NIOSH serves as a member of the Federal TB Task Force, which consists of various agencies across the federal government working toward the elimination of TB in the U.S.

Professional Associations

ANA -- NIOSH researchers are collaborating with ANA to conduct research into the health and safety outcomes related to work schedules in nurses. ANA was involved in demonstrating the need for the study, provided input for the study methods, and are serving as members of the expert committee to review and help interpret the findings. They also assisted in establishing a plan to communicate the study findings.

NIOSH is partnering with a number of professional associations representing healthcare workers in the planning and implementation of a web survey of healthcare workers’ health and safety practices.  These associations were recruited primarily because they have members with potential exposure to targeted hazards.  They will each play a role in disseminating survey findings to their constituents.

 

Page last updated: July 30, 2008
Page last reviewed: October 20, 2008
Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Division of Respiratory Disease Studies

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NIOSH Program:

Health Care and Social Assistance

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