National Occupational Research Agenda: NIOSH Soon Will Announce RFA for FY 1999 Grants Under NORA

Contact: Fred Blosser (202) 260-8519
February 23, 1999

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) soon will announce a request for grant applications for fiscal year 1999 for research related to several specific priority areas under the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA).

The request for applications (RFA), now being finalized, will invite proposals for research related to the specific areas of:

• Intervention effectiveness research: evaluation of safety and health interventions to protect workers from job-related injuries and illnesses. Proposals can be in any industry sector, but NIOSH will give special consideration to projects in agriculture, construction, the service industry (particularly health care), and mining.
• Fertility and pregnancy abnormalities associated with occupational exposures.
• Occupational hearing loss: prevention and intervention, including noise control.
• Methodologies for assessing exposures to hazardous biological, chemical, and physical agents, including assessment of complex mixtures.
• Methodologies for injury and illness surveillance in the workplace.
• The aging workforce as a special population at risk of job-related injuries and illnesses.
• Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
• Issues in the organization of work relating to demanding work schedules, sleep disorders, and/or the risk of occupational illness and injury.

NIOSH will make a further announcement when the RFA is issued in the "NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts." At that time, the RFA will be available on NIOSH's home page on the World Wide Web, www.cdc.gov/niosh, under "Extramural Program."

NIOSH and National Institutes of Health (NIH) partners will co-sponsor the RFA and anticipate awarding $7 million in grants under this solicitation.

NORA was developed by NIOSH with extensive input and outside review by more than 500 diverse organizations and individuals. NORA provides a national blueprint for research in 21 priority areas that will do the most to prevent and reduce job-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths over the coming decade. NIOSH also is supporting extramural research in all NORA priority areas in FY 1999 under its general program announcement for occupational health and safety grant proposals.

For further information on NORA, call NIOSH's toll-free information number, 1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674) and visit the NIOSH Web page.