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National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health:

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health


Ads Omega 3 EPA DHA SPESwww.spesomega3.com/eng Internationally certified Omega 3 production. Contact us. Health & Safety Courseswww.priaeducation.org/Health-Safety Occupational Health & Safety Degree Distance Learning Program.Apply Now Home > Library > Health > Public Health Encyclopedia The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the primary federal agency conducting research on the safety and health of the workplace. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Institute was established in 1971 by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of 1970 to provide research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health. To conduct its programs, NIOSH draws from several public health disciplines, including industrial hygiene, epidemiology, nursing, engineering, medicine, statistics, psychology, the social sciences, and communication. NIOSH develops and promotes the use of national and state-based surveillance systems to identify, quantify, and track injuries and illnesses. Epidemiological analyses of these databases help identify unsafe or unhealthy workplace conditions. NIOSH also supports laboratory and field research to further identify, assess, and control occupational hazards and exposures and the diseases and injuries they cause. The research is conducted both intramurally by NIOSH personnel and extramurally through research grants and cooperative agreements. In 1996, NIOSH and more than five hundred other organizations and individuals enhanced these collaborations by establishing the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to guide occupational safety and health research on a broader scale. NORA provides a framework of priorities for both intramural and extramural research programs. In addition to identifying risks, NIOSH develops and evaluates prevention measures such as control technology, personal protective equipment, and work practices. NIOSH assesses potential health problems at worksites upon the request of employers, employees, and other government entities. These evaluations often identify new occupational health problems and provide the industry-wide expertise needed to target prevention initiatives. NIOSH uses the knowledge gained from research, surveillance, and prevention efforts to deliver critical information to workers, employers, the public, and the public health community. The institute produces and disseminates various informational materials, including policy and criteria documents, technical and surveillance reports, and educational documents. NIOSH also evaluates the effectiveness of worker training programs to ensure that the messages of workplace safety and health are effective for individual workers.

As directed by the OSH Act, NIOSH works to maintain adequate numbers of occupational safety and health professionals and researchers by establishing, strengthening, and expanding graduate and undergraduate educational programs and special training grants. For further information contact NIOSH at 1800-35-NIOSH (1800-3564674) or visit the NIOSH web site, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh.

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Definition of NIOSH

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NIOSH: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a US Federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recom and injury.

Despite its name (which would suggest that it is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control a NIOSH is responsible for conducting research on the full scope of occupational disease and injury ranging from lung disease in miners to carpal conducting research, NIOSH

investigates potentially hazardous working conditions when requested by employers or employees; makes recommendations and disseminates information on preventing workplace disease, injury, and disability; and provides training to occupational safety and health professionals.

NIOSH is a diverse organization. Its employees represent a wide range of disciplines including industrial hygiene, nursing, epidemiology, engine Washington DC, NIOSH has offices in Atlanta, Georgia and research divisions in Cincinnati, Ohio; Morgantown, West Virginia; Bruceton, Pennsy

Each day, an average of 9,000 U.S. workers sustain disabling injuries on the job, 17 workers die from an injury sustained at work, and 137 worke burden of this continuing toll is high. Data from a NIOSH-funded study reveal $171 billion annually in direct and indirect costs of occupational inju

billion for diseases). (These costs compare to $33 billion for AIDS, $67.3 billion for Alzheimer disease, $164.3 billion for circulatory diseases, and

The enormous toll from work-related injuries and diseases can, it is felt, be reduced. Progress has been made to date, largely based on the scien and health research. Most of this research is conducted or funded by NIOSH.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (or NIOSH) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIOSH is headquartered in Washington, DC, with research laboratories and offices in Cincinnati, Ohio; Morgantown, West Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Denver, Colorado; Anchorage, Alaska; Spokane, Washington; and Atlanta, Georgia.[1] NIOSH is a professionally diverse organization with a staff of over 1,400 people representing a wide range of disciplines including epidemiology, medicine, industrial hygiene, safety, psychology, engineering, chemistry, and statistics. The director of NIOSH is John Howard. The Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970, created both NIOSH and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). NIOSH was established to help ensure safe and healthful working conditions by providing research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health. NIOSH provides national and world leadership to prevent work-related illness, injury, disability, and death by gathering information, conducting scientific research, and translating the knowledge gained into products and services.[2]

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