National Healthcare and Social Assistance Agenda
NOTE: This page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated.
An updated agenda is available here
The NORA Healthcare and Social Assistance Sector Council finalized this version of the National Healthcare and Social Assistance Agenda after considering public comments on the previous draft.
NORA is a partnership effort to define and conduct high priority research in occupational safety and health. Sector-based partnerships use research results to encourage changes in workplaces that will be effective in reducing worker injuries, illnesses, and deaths. NIOSH serves as a facilitator of the NORA process. More information about NORA is available.
The Healthcare and Social Assistance (HCSA) Sector is comprised of four subsectors: ambulatory health care services ( NAICS 621External
Because of the many parallels between animal and human healthcare, the veterinary services industry ( NAICS 54194External
An estimated 18.9 million people, about 13% of the US workforce, were employed within the HCSA sector (BLS Current Population Survey, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat18.pdfCdc-pdf
The HCSA Sector Council developed five strategic goals designed to address top safety and health priorities for the sector: Strategic Goal 1 – safety and health programs; Strategic Goal 2 – musculoskeletal disorders; Strategic Goal 3 – hazardous drugs and other chemicals; Strategic goal 4 – sharps injuries; and Strategic Goal 5 – infectious diseases. More recently, a working group of the Sector Council drafted new strategic goals addressing priority occupational safety and health issues for the Veterinary Services industry. The goals focus on hazards faced by veterinary medicine and animal care personnel in this industry and in many other types of establishments in which they work, for example, zoos, nature parks, and settings offering a variety of pet care.
Comments on the selected goals are always welcome; they will be considered in future updates of this agenda. The NORA Healthcare and Social Assistance Sector Council is particularly interested in comments from those organizations and individuals who would commit to advancing one or more of these goals through partnerships.
You may submit correspondence by email to noracoordinator@cdc.gov.
Contact the NORA Coordinator if you have any questions: