Safety News: “Total Worker Health” Summit Begins Today

BETHESDA, MD – Scholars and researchers from across the occupational health spectrum have gathered here today for a two-day symposium on the concept of “Total Worker Health”, and how a more holistic approach to worker safety, health and well-being can be successfully implemented.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), more than 145 million Americans are in the workforce, and most spend at least 50% of their active time at work. And despite improvements in occupational safety and health over the last several decades, workers continue to be at risk of illness, injury, or worse.

In many ways, the construction industry leads the way with regard to awareness and proactive policies and programs designed to keep workers safe. Diligent contractor health and safety directors continuously educate and train their teams on the proper use and handling of construction materials, tools and machinery, and have programs in place to mitigate or eliminate other job site hazards.

NIOSH’s Total Worker Health (TWH) builds upon that foundation of protecting workers from work-related exposures and hazards by championing a holistic understanding of the myriad of factors that influence safety, health, and human well-being, including potential causes of work-related stress, for example.

“Although the benefits and synergistic possibilities of an integrated approach may seem obvious, integrated programs have not been sufficiently validated by the current research,” according to event organizers. “To better understand the benefits of an integrated approach, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will engage in a rigorous assessment of the available scientific evidence.”

The event, “Pathways to Prevention Workshop: Total Worker Health—What’s Work Got to Do With It?” is being held from Dec. 9 – 10, at the Masur Auditorium in the National Institute of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md. For more information about the conference, please see: https://prevention.nih.gov/programs-events/pathways-to-prevention/workshops/total-worker-health

About the National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives. For more information, please visit: http://www.nih.gov/

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established NIOSH. NIOSH is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It has the mandate to assure “every man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.” NIOSH has more than 1,300 employees from a diverse set of fields including epidemiology, medicine, nursing, industrial hygiene, safety, psychology, chemistry, statistics, economics, and many branches of engineering. NIOSH works closely with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor to protect American workers and miners. For more information, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/

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