NIOSH Program Portfolio : WorkLife Initiative : Strategic Goals

NIOSH Programs > WorkLife Initiative > Strategic Goals

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

The WLI seeks to promote workplace programs, policies, and practices that result in healthier, more productive employees through a focus simultaneously on disease prevention, health promotion, and accommodations to age, family, and life stage. The Initiative incorporates NIOSH’s commitment to workplaces free of recognized hazards into broader consideration of the factors that affect worker health and wellbeing. Workplace hazards, such as physical demands, chemical exposures, and work organization, often interact with non-work factors such as family demands and health behaviors to increase health and safety risks. The WLI Initiative and its partners seek to overcome the translational issues that now prevent state-of-the-art occupational health, health promotion and chronic disease research findings from benefiting working age populations immediately, regardless of workplace size, work sector, or region of the country.

Strategic Goal 1. Reduce worker disease and injury risk by through the increased adoption of workplace programs that address health risk from both the work environment (physical and organizational) and individual behavior.

Intermediate Goal 1.1 – Organizations, professional associations, and government agencies interested in work force health will adopt and disseminate information to help employers implement promising and proven practices connecting health protection and health promotion.
- Activity/Output Goal 1.1.1 – Promote the WorkLife Initiative and principles through participation in conferences, a NIOSH WorkLife newsletter, and other information resources.
- Activity/Output Goal 1.1.2 – Conduct outreach and education to develop new partnerships and awareness of the WorkLife Initiative.
Intermediate Goal 1.2 – Employers and employee groups, including the public sector work force, will pilot test and/or implement promising or proven workplace policies, practices, and programs that address health protection and promotion.
- Activity/Output Goal 1.2.1 – Develop and disseminate best practices, tool kits, case studies, and the latest research findings.
- Activity/Output Goal 1.2.2 – Develop and disseminate strategies for overcoming barriers to organizational acceptance and adoption of comprehensive, coordinated work-based health protection/health promotion interventions.
- Activity/Output Goal 1.2.3 – Investigate the costs/benefits associated with comprehensive, coordinated work-based health protection/health promotion interventions.
Intermediate Goal 1.3 – Improve the knowledge base needed to develop and encourage adoption of more effective workplace programs, policies, and practices.
- Activity/Output Goal 1.3.1 – Encourage Sector Councils to adopt WorkLife-relevant research among their research priorities.
- Activity/Output Goal 1.3.2 – Engage with other governmental and non-governmental funding agencies (e.g., NIH Institutes, RWJF, CDC, CDC Foundation) to support research relevant to improving understanding of effective workplace programs for chronic disease prevention.
- Activity/Output Goal 1.3..3 – Increase the availability of information useful to both intramural and extramural investigators by promoting inclusion of industry, occupation, and exposure information in electronic medical records.
- Activity/Output Goal 1.3.4 – Facilitate discussions with NIOSH surveillance experts and s researchers to discuss improving data available for understanding chronic disease among workers, e.g., by providing input into the National Health Interview Survey.

Page last updated: August 24, 2009
Page last reviewed: October 28, 2008
Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Division of Respiratory Disease Studies

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	NIOSH Programs > WorkLife Initiative > Strategic Goals 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 The WLI seeks to promote workplace programs, policies, and practices that result in healthier, more productive employees through a focus simultaneously on disease prevention, health promotion, and accommodations to age, family, and life stage. The Initiative incorporates NIOSH’s commitment to workplaces free of recognized hazards into broader consideration of the factors that affect worker health and wellbeing. Workplace hazards, such as physical demands, chemical exposures, and work organization, often interact with non-work factors such as family demands and health behaviors to increase health and safety risks. The WLI Initiative and its partners seek to overcome the translational issues that now prevent state-of-the-art occupational health, health promotion and chronic disease research findings from benefiting working age populations immediately, regardless of workplace size, work sector, or region of the country. Strategic Goal 1. Reduce worker disease and injury risk by through the increased adoption of workplace programs that address health risk from both the work environment (physical and organizational) and individual behavior. Intermediate Goal 1.1 – Organizations, professional associations, and government agencies interested in work force health will adopt and disseminate information to help employers implement promising and proven practices connecting health protection and health promotion. Activity/Output Goal 1.1.1 – Promote the WorkLife Initiative and principles through participation in conferences, a NIOSH WorkLife newsletter, and other information resources. Activity/Output Goal 1.1.2 – Conduct outreach and education to develop new partnerships and awareness of the WorkLife Initiative. Intermediate Goal 1.2 – Employers and employee groups, including the public sector work force, will pilot test and/or implement promising or proven workplace policies, practices, and programs that address health protection and promotion. Activity/Output Goal 1.2.1 – Develop and disseminate best practices, tool kits, case studies, and the latest research findings. Activity/Output Goal 1.2.2 – Develop and disseminate strategies for overcoming barriers to organizational acceptance and adoption of comprehensive, coordinated work-based health protection/health promotion interventions. Activity/Output Goal 1.2.3 – Investigate the costs/benefits associated with comprehensive, coordinated work-based health protection/health promotion interventions. Intermediate Goal 1.3 – Improve the knowledge base needed to develop and encourage adoption of more effective workplace programs, policies, and practices. Activity/Output Goal 1.3.1 – Encourage Sector Councils to adopt WorkLife-relevant research among their research priorities. Activity/Output Goal 1.3.2 – Engage with other governmental and non-governmental funding agencies (e.g., NIH Institutes, RWJF, CDC, CDC Foundation) to support research relevant to improving understanding of effective workplace programs for chronic disease prevention. Activity/Output Goal 1.3..3 – Increase the availability of information useful to both intramural and extramural investigators by promoting inclusion of industry, occupation, and exposure information in electronic medical records. Activity/Output Goal 1.3.4 – Facilitate discussions with NIOSH surveillance experts and s researchers to discuss improving data available for understanding chronic disease among workers, e.g., by providing input into the National Health Interview Survey. Page last updated: August 24, 2009 Page last reviewed: October 28, 2008 Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Division of Respiratory Disease Studies < National Research Agenda (NORA) \| NIOSH Strategic Goals \| Partners >				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
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