About Division of Field Studies and Engineering

What we do

DFSE has four main research areas:

1. Using occupational health surveillance and informatics methods to study trends in worker exposures, illnesses, and injuries. This includes
   1. Developing worker illness, injury, and hazard-tracking systems and informatics tools.
   2. Promoting and supporting industry and occupation information collection in surveys and records.
2. Characterizing and reducing workplace health hazards for workplaces, agencies, and other stakeholders. This includes
   1. Evaluating fire fighters’ work-related deaths caused by medical conditions. www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire
   2. Conducting assessments of occupational exposure to nanomaterials and advanced materials. www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech/field
3. Conducting health and exposure field research in working populations. This includes
   1. Determining the incidence and prevalence of disease in workers and their children.
   2. Determining the nature and extent of acute and chronic responses to potentially hazardous agents at work.
4. Conducting research to characterize and control worker exposures to hazards. This includes
   1. Developing and evaluating engineering controls to reduce workplace exposures to hazards.
   2. Preventing and reducing the occurrence of occupational hearing loss and musculoskeletal disorders.

DFSE staff also often participate in disaster and emergency response activities.

Focus

DFSE manages several NIOSH research programs, including:

Center for Workers’ Compensation Studies
This program uses workers’ compensation data and systems to improve workplace safety and health.

Exposure Assessment Program
This program develops new methods and tools to measure exposures.

Cancer, Reproductive, Cardiovascular, and Other Chronic Disease Prevention Program
This program seeks to prevent and reduce a variety of work-related diseases and conditions.

Health Hazard Evaluation Program
This program helps employees, unions, and employers learn whether health hazards are present at their workplace and recommends ways to reduce hazards and prevent work-related illness.

Hearing Loss Prevention Program
This program provides leadership to reduce occupational hearing loss.

Musculoskeletal Health Program
This program seeks to protect workers from musculoskeletal disorders by identifying risks and improving interventions.

National Fire Fighter Registry for Cancer This program encourages the voluntary registry of fire fighters to determine the cancer incidence and trends among fire fighters.

Technology and product highlights

Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Reports

The Health Hazard Evaluation Program helps employees, unions, and employers learn whether health hazards are present at their workplace and recommends ways to reduce hazards and prevent work-related illness. Our evaluations are done at no cost to the employees, unions, or employers.

Surveillance and informatics tools

Worker Health Charts (WHC) is a data visualization website that provides information about worker health.

NIOSH Industry and Occupation Computerized Coding System (NIOCCS) translates occupation and industry text data to standardized Census, NAICS and SOC codes.

Engineering Controls Database

This database is a repository of NIOSH research findings on engineering control technology.

Mobile device apps

The NIOSH Sound Level Meter App measures sound levels in the workplace and provides noise exposure limits.

The NIOSH Lifting Equation App calculates the overall risk index for single and multiple manual lifting tasks.