RESEARCH TO PRACTICE
"Research to Practice" is a term used by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to describe research applied to workplace solutions that reduce injury and illness. Such projects focus on the transfer and translation of research findings, technologies, and information into highly effective prevention practices and products that are adopted in the workplace.
At the University of Washington, the Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer (UW TechTransfer) is instrumental in helping us apply our research to public health problems.
Here are some examples of our applied research:
Fluorescent tracers
Professor Richard Fenske's 20 years of work on the research applications of fluorescent tracers as a surrogate of dermal pesticide exposure has been turned into a practical tool to enhance pesticide handler training. Fenske and his staff at the *Pacific Northwest Agriculture Safety and Health Center* created this user-friendly manual in partnership with the Washington Department of Agriculture and *Washington State University.
Building a better mouse
Assistant Professor Pete Johnson's ergonomics lab worked with Microsoft to develop a better mouse. Read his story in the Puget Sound Business Journal, November 24, 2006.
Best practices
The department has worked with the state Department of Labor and Industries to establish several Center of Occupational Health and Education (COHE) sites in the state. One goal is to give workers the freedom to choose their own doctors. That means working with the physicians and chiropractors in the community, teaching them best practices for occupational medicine. A second goal is to reduce costs. Workers' compensation treatment claims cost Washington employers more than $1 billion a year. The cost to workers in pain, career loss, and lost income is incalculable.
Alerting workers to dangers
Professor Noah Seixas' team is about halfway through a project to evaluate the use of noise badges for construction workers. The pager-like devices alert workers when noise is loud enough to damage hearing. The devices are popular with workers. The project is collaboration with the Associated General Contractors.
