TRAUMATIC INJURY

Inputs: NIOSH Strategic Goals

As part of a comprehensive approach to performance measurement, in 2006 and 2007, NIOSH engaged the National Academies (NA) to independently evaluate NIOSH's Traumatic Injury (TI) research program for the evaluation period 1996 through 2005, with respect to the program's impact, relevance and future directions. NIOSH's TI Program developed an evidence package describing the activities, outputs, and the extent to which NIOSH research is responsible for changes in the workplace that reduce the risk of occupational injuries and deaths. Included in the evidence package was a draft strategic plan that included strategic and intermediate goals. The NA concluded in their 2008 report that the TI program's efforts for the years 1996-2005 were in priority areas, and demonstrated effects on some end outcomes or well accepted intermediate outcomes, resulting in scores of 4 out of 5 for both relevance and impact.

The NA made several recommendations for enhancing the TI program and its impacts. In response to the NA recommendations, the TI Steering Committee developed an implementation plan with input from the NIOSH Board of Scientific Counselors. As part of the implementation plan, the strategic plan was revised to add a strategic goal to increase the use of occupational injury surveillance data and to add activity/output goals.

View the NIOSH Traumatic Injury Strategic Goals [PDF - 112 KB].

Links:

• The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA)
• The NORA Traumatic Injury Page
• National Occupational Injury Research Symposia (NOIRS) in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2008, and 2011
• NIOSH Research Grants

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.