In April 1996, NIOSH and its partners unveiled the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), a framework to guide occupational safety and health research into the next decade -- not only for NIOSH but for the entire occupational safety and health community. Approximately 500 organizations and individuals outside NIOSH provided input into the development of the Agenda. Before NORA no national research agenda existed in the field of occupational safety and health, and no research agenda in any field had captured such broad input and consensus. The NORA process resulted in a remarkable consensus about the top 21 research priorities (see table below).

NORA arose out of the recognition that occupational safety and health research in both the public and private sector would benefit from targeting limited resources. The creators of the Agenda also recognized the need to address changes in the U.S. workplace as well as the increasingly diversified workforce. The distribution of jobs in our economy continues to shift from manufacturing to services. Longer hours, compressed work weeks, shift work, reduced job security, and part-time and temporary work are realities of the modern workplace. By the year 2005, the U.S. workforce will grow to an estimated 147 million, minorities will represent 28 percent of the workforce, and women approximately 48 percent.

Allergic and Irritant Dermatitis
Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
   Disease
Fertility and Pregnancy Abnormalities
Hearing Loss
Infectious Disease
Low Back Disorders
Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremities
Traumatic Injuries

Emerging Technologies
Indoor Environment
Mixed Exposures
Organization of Work
Special Populations at Risk

Cancer Research Methods
Control Technology and Personal Protective
   Equipment
Exposure Assessment Methods
Health Services Research
Intervention Effectiveness Research
Risk Assessment Methods
Social and Economic Consequences of Workplace
   Illness and Injury
Surveillance Research Methods

 

NORA also addressed the broadly recognized need to focus research in the areas with the highest likelihood of reducing the still significant toll of workplace illness and injury. Each day, an average of 9,000 U.S. workers sustain disabling injuries on the job, 16 workers die from an injury sustained at work, and 137 workers die from work-related diseases.

The economic burden of this continuing toll is high. Data from a NIOSH-funded study published in 1997 showed that in 1992, direct and indirect costs of occupational injuries and illnesses totaled $171 billion ($145 billion for injuries and $26 billion for diseases). These costs compare to $33 billion for AIDS, $67.3 billion for Alzheimer's Disease, $164.3 billion for circulatory diseases, and $170.7 billion for cancer (see graphic below).

Developing NORA was only the first step in the collaborative effort between NIOSH and its many partners to guide and promote occupational safety and health research. Even at the time the Agenda was announced, there was a common commitment to work to implement the Agenda, namely, to increase activities and resources in the 21 priority areas.

In the first three years of the implementation of NORA, NIOSH and its partners have demonstrated that NORA is generating funding and research activities in the 21 priority areas. The 20 partnership teams (the two musculoskeletal priority research areas are being addressed by one team) have been instrumental in this success.

Prior to NORA, research in occupational safety and health was fragmented, suffering from a "shotgun" approach to tackling major problems. Through NORA, we hope to better position the Nation to address the toll of workplace injury and death.

 

This page was last updated: May 24, 1999