06/15/2022: Ergonomics for Total Worker Health®: What is the Current State of Knowledge?

Recorded on Wednesday, June 15, 2022

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Ergonomics for Total Worker Health®: What is the Current State of Knowledge?

About the webinar:

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) introduced a system-oriented Total Worker Health® (TWH) approach in 2011 to address the traditional and the emerging risks of the modern workplace. While the scientific evidence for TWH is still nascent and evolving, various ergonomics models, interventions and programs have been tested and implemented as part of a TWH approach. As a discipline concerned with designing people-centered systems to optimize human well-being and overall performance, ergonomics has a lot to offer to advance TWH research and knowledge uptake. This webinar will explore the current state of ergonomics intervention research and highlight gaps in the literature. A particular focus will be given to two priority areas proposed by NIOSH: the future of work and healthy work design and well-being programs.

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this activity, the learner will be able to:

  • Recognize the importance of and the essential elements of the TWH approach

  • Identify several research areas and specific ergonomic interventions tested and implemented thus far on the premises of a holistic TWH model for improving workforce safety, health, and well-being

  • Discuss the research gaps and how ergonomists can support the advances in TWH application in practice and utilize available resources.

Speaker: Katia M. Costa-Black, PhD, PT

Katia Costa-Black is a faculty lecturer at the Graduate Program of Ergonomics and Biomechanics at New York University and at the School of Health Systems and Public Health at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. She also serves as an independent Consultant in the area of ergonomics and Total Worker Health. Katia Costa-Black brings an international, research-oriented and multi-disciplinary perspective to her teaching and ergonomics practice. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, a Master’s degree in Ergonomics and Biomechanics, and Bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy. She is serving as the American Industrial Hygiene Association TWH Liaison, and recently joined the executive council of the Puget Sound Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

New York New Jersey ERC Logo

About NYNJERC:

The New York-New Jersey Education and Research Center (NYNJERC) is the hub of education and research in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in Federal Region 2, comprising the states of New York and New Jersey, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U. S. Virgin Islands.

The mission of NYNJERC is to prepare the next generation of professionals to be leaders in OHS through rigorous interdisciplinary academic training programs in all the major fields of OHS – occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, industrial hygiene, occupational safety and health engineering and ergonomics – so that our graduates are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that they will need to understand, evaluate, prevent, manage and treat occupational disease and injury in the workers of our region and across the United States.