Statement of Task

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requested that the National Academies/IOM conduct a review of its Traumatic Injury Prevention Research Program. Specifically, the committee will examine the following issues related to the prevention of traumatic injury:

(1) Progress in reducing workplace illness and injuries through occupational safety and health research, assessed on the basis of an analysis of relevant data about workplace illnesses and injuries and an evaluation of the effect that NIOSH research has had in reducing illness and injuries.

(2) Progress in targeting new research to the areas of occupational safety and health most relevant to future improvements in workplace protection.

(3) Significant emerging research areas that appear especially important in terms of their relevance to the mission of NIOSH.

The evaluation will consider what the NIOSH program is producing as well as whether the program can reasonably be credited with changes in workplace practices, or whether such changes are the result of other factors unrelated to NIOSH. For cases where impact is difficult to measure directly, the committee reviewing the Traumatic Injury Prevention Research Program may use information on intermediate outcomes to evaluate performance.

NIOSH’s traumatic injury prevention research under review includes:

Fatal Injuries:

• Motor vehicles (e.g. highway and construction work)

• Falls from elevations

• Violence

• Machines (e.g. tractor rollover, paper balers, cranes and lifts)

Non-fatal Injuries

• Acute back injury

• Alaska (fishing and logging)

• Emergency Responders

• Youth

NIOSH’s traumatic injury program includes surveillance and field investigations, analysis (risk factor research and intervention research), and protective technology research.