NIOSH Program Portfolio

WorkLife Initiative

Inputs: NIOSH Strategic Goals

The NIOSH Healthy WorkLife Initiative 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. Goals take this approach a step further by identifying specific outcomes that we want to target, performance measures for evaluating progress in meeting the outcome goals, and intermediate goals to describe the necessary steps that need to be performed to accomplish the goal. Setting goals is challenging because

• It forces us to focus on a subgroup of issues where we think NIOSH can make an impact—a long list would spread our resources too thin to accomplish the goals. Not every worthwhile topic can be included.
• It is difficult to develop performance measures. Available injury statistics have limitations, and exposure and health outcome measures are typically not available.
• It is ambitious for NIOSH to set goals to achieve outcomes such as reductions in a national fatality rate. NIOSH is a research agency so we do not often directly influence outcomes—we must partner well and influence other groups to show results.

NIOSH Program Portfolio Approach

NIOSH has been organizing research, guidance, information, and service efforts into specific programs that can be readily communicated and strategically governed and evaluated. Eight NORA Sector Programs represent industrial sectors, and twenty-four Cross-sector Programs organized around adverse health outcomes, statutory programs and global efforts.

The NORA Sector Programs intersect with Cross-Sector Programs in a matrix-like fashion. For example, an Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Program goal of reducing farm-related deaths and injuries due to tractor rollovers and trucks would likely be a shared goal with the Transportation Program and if appropriate would be adopted by both programs. This approach provides an added advantage and will allow multiple Programs to work towards accomplishment of intersecting goals.

Each of the 32 programs in the NIOSH Program Portfolio has a Manager and Coordinator. Each of the 8 NIOSH Sector Programs facilitates the work of a NORA Sector Council to engage external stakeholders in the process of developing sector goals for the nation and methods to measure the short-term, intermediate and long-term outcomes arising from those goals. The NORA goals for the nation will be considered when choosing NIOSH sector program goals. Cross Sector programs have internal Steering Committees that develop program goals and monitor outcome measures.

These planning efforts will position NIOSH to align with the most current governmental approaches for evaluating program effectiveness, i.e., the Program Assessment Rating Tool (or PART). PART is a mechanism to hold governmental agencies accountable for accomplishing results. As part of our comprehensive approach to performance measurement, NIOSH has engaged the National Academies to independently evaluate our sector and cross-programs for relevance and impact.

Healthy WorkLife Initiative Program Goals

NIOSH is in the process of drafting strategic goals for the Healthy WorkLife Initiative Program. As required by the Office of Management and Budget, these strategic goals will be organized by outcomes such as injuries and illnesses instead of more general topic areas such as reducing all occupational mortality in the transportation industry.

When draft goals for the NIOSH Healthy WorkLife Initiative Program are completed, they will be posted here for review and comment. We will also use the NIOSH eNews to announce that draft goals are available for review.

NIOSH is interested in your opinions about the relevance and value of strategic goals for the Healthy WorkLife Initiative Program. We encourage you to consider partnering with us on issues of interest to you and your organization.

The development of goals for the NIOSH Healthy WorkLife Initiative Program is closely linked to the work of a new NORA Sector Research Council for the Healthy WorkLife Initiative sector, which will be forming in the Healthy WorkLife Initiative of 2006. The Sector Research Council will be developing national goals for the Healthy WorkLife Initiative sector.

The ultimate goal of the WorkLife initiative is to sustain and improve worker health through better work-based programs, policies, and practices.

The WLI reflects core NIOSH principles:

• Protecting workers from recognized hazards from work. This is fundamental to the work of NIOSH and the foundation of the WLI.
• Fighting health disparities. Disease and injury both from work and from out of work exposures are unevenly distributed throughout the workforce. We seek to better understand how work factors serve modify risk for developing a range of health outcomes and to understand the workplace interventions that will reduce risk.
• Forming productive partnerships. The WLI relies on productive partnerships for research, training, and communication of workplace-relevant health protective and enhancing recommendations. Partnerships are critical to translate research findings into practice.
• Conducting and supporting high quality science as the basis for health protective policy.

The aims of the WorkLife Initiative are:

• To encourage and support rigorous evaluation of comprehensive, integrative approaches to work and health.
• To promote adoption of policies and practices proven to protect and improve worker health.
• To motivate trans-disciplinary collaboration among investigators focused on preserving and improving the health of people who work
• To overcome the traditional separation of the occupational health and health promotion professional communities.

The WorkLife Initiative will pursue its aims through:

• Support of scientific research to develop and evaluate work-based interventions intended to improve worker health.
• Engagement with partners to identify and promote effective practices and policies.
• Dissemination of the results of research through publications, presentations, and symposia.

The WorkLife Initiative intends to achieve:

• Measurable improvement in the knowledge base regarding how the environment/organization of work can be modified to promote and protect health.
• Measurable improvement in the knowledge base regarding the health protection/promotion features of a “best practice” worksite.
• Measurable improvement in the knowledge base regarding why the coordination of health protection and health promotion makes sense from the perspectives of workers and employers.
• Increases in the number of organizations made aware of the case for employer involvement in health protection and promotion.

NIOSH Program Portfolio:

WorkLife Initiative

Program Description
Inputs
• Economic Factors
• Occupational Risks
• National Research Agenda (NORA)
• NIOSH Strategic Goals
• Partners
• NIOSH Contacts
Activities
• NIOSH Funded Research Grants
Outputs
• Publications
• Topic Pages
• Research to Practice
• Conferences
Outcomes
Review & Evaluation
• Program Review