NIOSH Follows Workers as they Age; New Topic Page Promotes Healthy Aging

Contact: Nura Sadeghpour (202)254-0673

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently released a new topic page that offers a worker-focused perspective on health and safety and chronic disease issues related to aging. This is one of the first NIOSH topic pages to co-align with the existing Total Worker HealthTM webpage.

Employers increasingly see the value that older workers bring to the job, including greater institutional knowledge and wealth of experience, productive work habits, lower stress, and higher likelihood of getting along with their colleagues. Older workers also tend to be more cautious on the job and more likely to follow safety rules and regulations. As older workers experience chronic conditions, their health and safety on the job is jeopardized.

The new topic page, titled Healthy Aging at Work, along with its associated subpages, features a compilation of recommendations for healthy aging in the workplace as well as NIOSH research on the subject. Future planned updates include expanding on research needs as well as information specific to health risks such as hearing loss and musculoskeletal disorders. The page also features simple strategies and workplace solutions for an age-friendly workplace.

As part of the Total Worker Health Program, Healthy Aging at Work acknowledges that both work-related factors and health factors beyond the workplace jointly contribute to many health and safety problems that confront today's workers and their families. Total Worker Health is a strategy integrating health protection with health promotion to prevent worker injury and illness and to enhance well-being, including that of older workers.

The Healthy Aging at Work topic page can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/healthyagingatwork/ For more information on the NIOSH Total Worker Health program, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/TWH/.

NIOSH is the federal agency that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. For more information about NIOSH visit http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/.