The Healthier Workforce Center encourages the development of new and creative research and research-oriented health promotion, health protection and translation projects with promise to lead to more comprehensive studies addressing Total Worker Health approaches.
The pilot grant program supports new faculty and student research projects and engages community members in implementing and evaluating evidence-based research into practice.
The Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest (HWC) at the University of Iowa and Washington University is pleased to announce the availability of funds for New Investigator and Student pilot projects.
The HWC is one of ten Total Worker Health® (TWH) Centers of Excellence funded through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The HWC is dedicated to protecting and preserving worker safety and health through knowledge generation and dissemination of evidence-based TWH practices. As a regional Center, the HWC serves the occupational safety and health needs of employees and employers in HHS Federal Region VII (IA, NE, KS, MO). NIOSH defines TWH as “policies, programs and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with promotion of injury and illness prevention efforts to advance worker well-being.” Topics relevant to TWH include improving work organization, assessing the contribution of occupational stressors to the burden of chronic health conditions among employees (e.g., obesity, cardiovascular disease, and depression), optimizing return to work outcomes, and injury/illness prevention strategies among populations particularly at-risk for adverse health outcomes (e.g., older/younger workers, immigrant workers, and those with part time or precarious employment arrangements).
Additional resources and information can be found using the following links:
Applications for academic-track awards should have a specific scientific hypothesis and should aim to advance the state of scientific knowledge relevant to Total Worker Health.
Click to download the complete Academic-Track Pilot Project Request for Proposals, which includes application instructions.
All persons with interest in TWH, affiliated with an “eligible institution,” and possessing appropriate knowledge, skills, and resources are invited to prepare an application. Eligible institutions include:
Investigators may include junior faculty, scientific staff, post-doctoral trainees, medical residents and fellows, graduate students (MS and PhD), and professional students (e.g., MPH), among others. Senior faculty newly interested in TWH may also apply. If the principal investigator is a student or trainee, a faculty sponsor must be identified.
As a regional Center, the HWC serves the occupational safety and health needs of employees and employers in HHS Federal Region VII (IA, NE, KS, MO). Projects from outside HHS Federal Region VII will be considered to the extent that they address the needs of employers and employees within this region.
The maximum permitted budget is $25,000 (direct plus indirect). Availability of funds for these proposals is conditional on continued funding of the HWC by NIOSH.
Community-track pilot projects should emphasize practical application of Total Worker Health knowledge to improve worker safety, health, and well-being. Applications for community-track pilot projects likely to be funded are those that will result in (i) improved health and/or safety practices or (ii) enhanced service delivery by the applicant organization(s).
Click to download the complete Community-Track Pilot Project Request for Proposals, which includes application instructions.
All persons with interest in TWH, affiliated with an eligible institution or organization, and possessing appropriate knowledge, skills, and resources are invited to prepare an application. Eligible institutions/organizations include:
As a regional Center, the HWC serves the workplace safety and health needs of employees and employers in HHS Federal Region VII (IA, NE, KS, MO). Projects from outside HHS Federal Region VII will be considered to the extent that they address the needs of employers and employees within this region.
Availability of funds for these proposals is conditional on continued funding of the HWC by NIOSH.
The maximum permitted budget is $25,000, which includes both direct and indirect costs.
With this Request for Proposals, the HWC is adopting a rolling submission and review process. We will accept complete applications at any time (see Application Content in the full Request for Proposals [RFP], for details and submission instructions).
While funds remain available, applications received by the first Monday of each month will be reviewed on or about the first Monday of the subsequent month. As examples:
Pilot project grant applications will be evaluated by internal and external HWC Advisory Committee members and others with the appropriate scientific expertise. Reviewers follow procedures similar to those used by federal scientific review panels (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not-od-09-024.html) and consider relevance of the proposed project to TWH, originality, scientific quality of the approach, the potential for future funding, and the appropriateness of the budget. A written critique will be provided to the principal investigator of each pilot grant application, regardless of funding decision.
Chris Blum & Lisa Henning
Nebraska Safety Council
Lauren Remspecher
St. Louis Business Health Coalition
Elizabeth Ablah
University of Kansas-Wichita School of Medicine
COVID-19 employer guide addressing employer & employee health & wellness during a pandemic
Corinne Peek-Asa, PhD
University of Iowa
Carri Casteel, PhD
University of Iowa
Laura Schwab-Reese, PhD
Purdue University
Work and workplace characteristics associated with suicide
Carly Nichols
Silvia Secchi
University of Iowa
Agricultural production practices and stress: a pilot study of women farmers in Iowa
Christine Ekenga, MPH, PhD
Washington University in St. Louis, George Warren Brown School of Public Health
Work after breast cancer: a mixed-methods study of African-American survivors
Amany Farag, PhD, RN
University of Iowa, College of Nursing
Feasibility study for assessing nurses’ occupational fatigue using the Sleep, Activity, Fatigue, and Task Effectiveness (SAFTE) biomathematical model
Kayla Faust
University of Iowa, College of Public Health
Detection of environmental hazards by senior farmers using a simulated tractor environment
Matt Nonnenmann, PhD
University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Occupational and Environmental Health
Total Worker Health in home-based childcare workers
Jeremy Hudson, MA, Chaplain
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Spiritual Services
Justin Kenardy, PhD
University of Queensland
Marizen Ramirez, PhD
University of Iowa
A comparative effectiveness study of Response, Resiliency & Resources (RRR) and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: two programs designed to reduce occupational stress among hospital clinic workers
Lisa Jaegers, PhD
Saint Louis University, College of Health Sciences, Occup. Science & Occup. Therapy
A protective study of heath among newly hired corrections officers
Melissa Hogan, MPH
St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition
Dissemination of Total Worker Health strategies to Midwest employers: addressing employee health in the 21st century
Lisa Jaegers, PhD
Saint Louis University, College of Health Sciences, Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy
Determining the mental health needs of corrections officers in Missouri for the development of a Total Worker Health program
Steven Rippentrop, MD (Heartland Center trainee, Occupational Medicine)
University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Occupational and Environmental Health
Workforce-centered outcomes research
Tonya Vyhlidal
Nebraska Safety Council
Development of a Total Worker Health program in small organizations
Ann Marie Dale, PhD
Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
Integrated health protection and health promotion program for grocery store workers
Carri Casteel, PhD
University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Occupational and Environmental Health
Prevalence and comprehensiveness of intimate partner violence programs, policies and training in mid-sized U.S. businesses
Mark Schall, MS (Heartland Center trainee, Ergonomics)
University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Occupational and Environmental Health
Nate Fethke, PhD
University of Iowa
Inertial measurement units as a tool for simultaneous worker health protection and promotion
Sophia Chiu, MD (Heartland Center trainee, Occupational Medicine)
University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Occupational and Environmental Health
Transitioning from school to work: Total Worker Health in young adults
Sharon Tucker, PhD
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Worksite physical activity intervention for ambulatory clinic registered nursing staff
Lucas Carr, PhD
University of Iowa, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Health and Human Physiology
Efficacy of a combined ergonomic health promotion intervention on employee health
Deirdre Green (Heartland Center trainee, Industrial Hygiene)
University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Occupational and Environmental Health
Personal noise exposure assessment study of food servers in locally owned restaurants
Sandra Ramey, PhD, RN
University of Iowa, College of Nursing
Evaluating stress resilience: a new worksite intervention to reduce stress and CVD risk factors in Police
Katherine Jones
University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Community and Behavioral Health
Integrating health, wellness and protection using wellness champions at Rockwell Collins in Coralville
Arlinda McKeen
State Public Policy Group
Employer wellness and prevention programs in PPACA exchanges and consumer operated and oriented (CO-OP) programs
Perry Meyer
Iowa Hospital Association
A survey of hospital-based employee health services
