The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) is a partnership program developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is the United States’ federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within the U.S...

 (NIOSH). The program was founded in 1996 to provide a framework for research collaborations among universities, large and small businesses, professional societies, government agencies, and worker organizations. Together these parties identify issues in the field of workplace safety and health

Occupational safety and health

Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goal of all occupational safety and health programs is to foster a safe work environment...

 that require immediate attention based on the number of workers affected, the seriousness of the hazard, and the likelihood that new safety information and approaches can effect a change.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is a U.S. federal government agency with a mandate to study workplace safety and health. NIOSH and its partners develop and integrate research to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses for over 150 million U.S. workers.

Developing the first research agenda

Dr. Linda Rosenstock

Linda Rosenstock

Linda Rosenstock is a public health specialist and administrator. She served as the director for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health from 1994 through 2000 and has been the dean of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health since 2000.-Early career:Linda...

 was appointed director of NIOSH in 1994. At that time many saw the Institute as an agency that yielded strong scientific research, but needed stronger connections to the real-world workforce. To remedy this, Rosenstock sought to develop stronger relationships with other organizations and agencies. NIOSH moved its headquarters from Atlanta to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, where the Institute could enjoy closer contact with labor and industry representatives. NIOSH's effort to build partnerships inside and outside of the government culminated in the development of the National Occupational Research Agenda.

To form the agenda, NIOSH leaders petitioned stakeholders in industry, labor, and health care for input. Organizations including General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

, IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

, Mobil

Mobil

Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...

, the United Auto Workers

United Auto Workers

The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...

, and the American Public Health Association

American Public Health Association

The American Public Health Association is Washington, D.C.-based professional organization for public health professionals in the United States. Founded in 1872 by Dr. Stephen Smith, APHA has more than 30,000 members worldwide...

 joined NIOSH in developing the agenda. NIOSH sought additional aid through a series of public town meetings held in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Seattle, and Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

. In total, nearly 500 organizations and individuals provided the input that resulted in the research agenda.

NORA in practice

NIOSH announced NORA's 21 priority research areas in 1996. On the strength of industry support and bipartisan backing, Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 increased funding for NIOSH and investment in NORA grew from $15.4 million in 1996 to $72.3 million in 1999. Following Rosenstock's resignation in 2000, Dr. John Howard continued to press and expand the NORA approach as NIOSH's new director. Since 1996, NORA's projects have covered topics such as slip, trip, and fall (STF) injuries; green tobacco sickness

Green Tobacco Sickness

Green Tobacco Sickness is a type of nicotine poisoning caused by the dermal absorption of nicotine from the surface of wet tobacco plants. Tobacco harvesters, whose clothing becomes saturated from tobacco wet with rain or morning dew, are at high risk of developing GTS...

; extended work hours; latex allergies

Latex allergy

Latex allergy is a medical term encompassing a range of allergic reactions to natural rubber latex.-Type I:The most serious and rare form, type I is an immediate and potentially life-threatening reaction, not unlike the severe reaction some people have to bee stings...

; vehicle and mobile equipment-related injury; silica

Silicon dioxide

The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica , is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula '. It has been known for its hardness since antiquity...

, lung cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

, and respiratory disease

Respiratory disease

Respiratory disease is a medical term that encompasses pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange possible in higher organisms, and includes conditions of the upper respiratory tract, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleura and pleural cavity, and the...

; and biomechanical stress in drywall installation.
Since 2006, the program has been organized by industrial sector as defined in the North American Industry Classification System. NORA sector councils, which head the research for the sectors, help to implement the national research agenda.
The current NORA sectors are as follows:

• Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
• Construction
• Health care and social assistance
• Manufacturing
• Mining
• Services
• Transportation, warehousing, and utilities
• Wholesale and retail trade

NORA priorities

To aid with goal-setting, NORA uses specific guidelines to determine which research needs are priorities. These guidelines are as follows:

• number of workers at risk for illness or injury
• severity of the hazard/issue
• probability that new information will help abate the hazard

NORA symposiums

To ensure a continued focus on the practical application of the research, NIOSH cosponsored NORA Symposiums in 1999, 2003, 2006, and 2008. The 2008 NORA Symposium—"Public Market for Ideas and Partnerships"—was the first not held in the Washington, D.C., area. Instead it was hosted in Denver, reflecting NIOSH's desire to expand occupational research collaborations in the Western United States.

External links

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), U.S. Census Bureau.