Report

Each year, approximately 5,000 fatal work-related injuries and 4 million non-fatal injuries and illnesses occur in the United States. This number represents both unnecessary human suffering and high economic costs. In order to assist in better evaluating workplace safety and create safer work environments, the Institute of Medicine conducted a series of evaluations of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research programs, assessing the relevance and impact of NIOSH’s work on improving worker safety and health. Eight NIOSH programs were evaluated based on a common framework.

The report, Evaluating Occupational Health and Safety Research Programs: Framework and Next Steps, provides the lessons learned in the evaluation process, a revised evaluation framework, and recommendations for improving future evaluations of occupational health and safety research programs. These programs can be better evaluated by continuing systematic external evaluations, bolstering research translation efforts, enhancing occupational health and safety surveillance, and integrating evaluations of intramural and extramural research.