1260 Mayo (MMC 807)
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Occupational Injury Prevention Research Training

The Program

The Occupational Injury Prevention Research Training (OIPRT), in concert with programs in Occupational Medicine, Occupational Health Nursing, and Industrial Hygiene, among others, is part of the nationally funded Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety. This program provides a multifaceted approach to advanced academic and research training, with a primary goal to prevent and control occupational injuries.

The degree provided, from this program, is a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Environmental Health. Candidacy for the PhD program requires completion of the master's degree (or the equivalent) in Environmental Health or related field. The necessary course work associated with the doctoral program is determined with the advisor (with program/graduate school approval) and is based upon the primary focus and proposed research endeavor of each student.

Students will be engaged in course work and research in the general realm of injury epidemiology and control. Some examples of past and current research efforts, both epidemiological/surveillance and clinical investigations, have included agricultural trauma, low-back injury, repetitive motion trauma, health practices and injuries in the workplace, work-related amputations, and work-related violence. Integral to these efforts is a basic understanding of dynamic interactions among the agents/energies (mechanical, chemical, thermal, electrical, radiation, etc.) and the hosts/worker populations within the environment.

OIPRT addresses numerous research areas identified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). These major NORA priority areas (and the occupational sectors addressed) are as follows: Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing; Construction; Wholesale and Retail Trade; Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities; Services; and Healthcare and Social Assistance. Subcategories that are addressed, include: Disease and Injury (Traumatic Injuries); Work Environment and Workforce (Mixed Exposures/chemical and physical); Special Populations at Risk (Elderly, Women, Children, Minorities); Research Tools and Approaches (Exposure Assessment Methods; Social and Economic Consequences of Workplace Illness and Injury; Surveillance Research Methods).