Occupational Health Services Research
Training Program

The Occupational Health Services Research Training Program at the University of Washington is administered jointly through the Department of Health Services and the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and is funded by a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) T42 institutional research training grant through the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH).

Mission:

One of the major strengths of the training program is its ability to provide in-depth research training experience through the Occupational Epidemiology and Health Outcomes Program. Trainees have an opportunity to participate in ongoing research conducted by the Occupational Epidemiology and Health Outcomes Program, or perform special studies using the extensive workers' compensation claims database available through this program. While giving emphasis to research on the delivery of occupational health care services through the workers' compensation system, the program also provides opportunities for field-based research on traditional occupational health and safety issues. Organizational partners that provide sites for field-based research include The Boeing Company, The Weyerhaeuser Company, and the Safety and Health Assessment and Research Program (SHARP) within the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

Training Objectives:

1. To recruit as doctoral trainees well-qualified individuals who wish to pursue a career path in occupational health services research.
2. To assist trainees, through coursework and field research experience, in acquiring the capacity to design and conduct original research concerning (a) the delivery of occupational health care services and health outcomes associated with these services, and (b) the factors that affect occupational health and safety at the worker, employer and system levels.
3. To foster in trainees a broad understanding of the special characteristics and policy context of occupational health services and an awareness of the issues amenable to empirical study.
4. To provide for trainees appropriate opportunities to perform occupational health services research studies under the supervision of senior faculty.
5. To assist program graduates in obtaining positions in academic, governmental, industrial, and other settings in which their special skills, competencies and knowledge will be utilized in ways that contribute to improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of occupational health services.

Trainees who successfully complete the program will be qualified to assume academic positions within health science programs or leadership roles as independent investigators in governmental agencies or private industry.