Program Goals

A key leadership role for the Healthcare and Social Assistance Sector is the development of goals to reduce illnesses and injuries among workers in these industries. The Healthcare and Social Assistance Program is in the process of developing goals to guide NIOSH research and partnership efforts over the next decade.

NIOSH and Program Portfolio Approach

NIOSH organizes its research, guidance, information, and service efforts into specific programs that can be readily communicated and strategically governed and evaluated. Ten sector programs represent industrial sectors, and seven Cross-sector Programs are organized around health and safety outcomes. There are also numerous core and specialty programs that represent special emphasis areas, methodological approaches, core activities and legislatively mandated programs.

The Sector Programs intersect with cross-sector programs in a matrix-like fashion, with relevant core and specialty programs playing a supporting role. 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 Traumatic Injury Prevention 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 NIOSH goals.

Below are the current goals for the Nation developed during the second decade of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). Strategic goals 1-5 address health and safety issues in human and animal healthcare settings; strategic goals 6-10 are unique to animal healthcare including veterinary medicine and animal care personnel.

HCSA Program Strategic Goals for Intramural Research

• Strategic Goal 1: Promote safe and healthy workplaces and optimize organizational safety culture.
• Strategic Goal 2: Reduce the incidence and severity of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
• Strategic Goal 3: Reduce or eliminate exposures and adverse health effects caused by hazardous drugs and other chemicals.
• Strategic Goal 4: Reduce sharps injuries and their impacts.
• Strategic Goal 5: STOP transmission of infectious diseases among workers, patients and visitors.
• Strategic Goal 6: Minimize or prevent occupational exposure of veterinary medicine and animal care (VM/AC) personnel to zoonotic diseases.
• Strategic Goal 7: Reduce the occurrence of the most common injury hazards among VM/AC personnel.
• Strategic Goal 8: Minimize or prevent occupational exposures to respiratory hazards and resulting adverse health effects among veterinary medicine and animal care (VM/AC) personnel.
• Strategic Goal 9: Reduce potential reproductive hazards and their impacts among VM/AC personnel.
• Strategic Goal 10: Reduce physical hazards and their impacts among VM/AC workers.

HCSA Program Priority Strategic Goals for NIOSH-funded Extramural Research

The Healthcare and Social Assistance (HCSA) Sector Program has established the following 5 priority goals for extramural research to be funded in fiscal year 2017. These apply to both human and animal healthcare, which are both included within the program We encourage proposals addressing home settings and animal healthcare settings, which have been relatively less studied and where there are important occupational safety and health issues that need to be addressed.

• Strategic Goal 1: Promote safe and healthy workplaces and optimize organizational safety culture.
• Strategic Goal 2: Reduce the incidence and severity of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
• Strategic Goal 3: Reduce or eliminate exposures and adverse health effects caused by hazardous drugs and other chemicals.
• Strategic Goal 4: Reduce sharps injuries and their impacts.
• Strategic Goal 5: STOP transmission of infectious diseases among workers, patients and visitors.
• Those seeking NIOSH grants to conduct studies related to the HCSA Program are invited to view the current funding opportunities.