Category: Strategic Foresight

A Reflection on World Futures Day 2024: NIOSH Efforts to Help Build a Better Tomorrow

  Future Day was first celebrated worldwide on March 1, 2012 as a forward-looking reflection on all the possibilities the future holds for humanity.1 Just two years later, the global think tank Millennium Project helped expand the unofficial holiday into what is now recognized as World Futures Day.2 World Futures Day is structured as an Read More >

Posted on by Jessica MK Streit, MS, PhD, CHES®Leave a comment

Preparing for the Future: NIOSH Applications of Strategic Foresight

  Change is all around us, and it is happening more intensely and more rapidly than ever before. NIOSH recognizes that many of the social, technological, economic, environmental, and political changes we experience can impact the design of work and the lives of working people.1 We also understand the benefit of proactively preparing for future Read More >

Posted on by Jessica MK Streit, MS, PhD, CHES® and Sarah A Felknor, MS, DrPH3 Comments

Total Worker Health® Symposium: A Closer Look at Keynotes

We’re taking a closer look at the presentations delivered during the 3rd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health®. Attendees from across the globe heard from experts in the field during keynote addresses, presentations, workshops, and “bright spots,” a new conference feature that highlights successful and innovative interventions in 10-minute presentations. Presentations explored opportunities to Read More >

Posted on by Emily Kirby, BPH1 Comment

Algorithms and the Future of Work

An algorithm is a series of precise, step-by-step instructions used by a machine to perform a mathematical operation.[1] The use of algorithm-enabled systems and devices will bring many benefits to occupational safety and health but, as with many new technologies, there are also risks to workers. A new commentary in the American Journal of Industrial Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MDLeave a comment

Labor Day 2021: Statement by John Howard, M.D., Director, NIOSH

Every year, we recognize the first Monday of September as Labor Day. Created in the late 19th century, it’s a day celebrated by Americans to recognize and pay tribute to those who labored to build America. At NIOSH, we continually strive to provide advances in worker safety and health. This year, we are proud to Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MD7 Comments

Bringing Strategic Foresight to OSH

How do we effectively plan for the future of occupational safety and health (OSH) when numerous social, technological, economic, environmental, and political trends are influencing work, the workplace, and the workforce? The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and others in the OSH field are working to ensure we are ready to address Read More >

Posted on by Jessica MK Streit, PhD, CHES®; Sarah A Felknor, MS, DrPH; Nicole T Edwards, MS; and John Howard, MDLeave a comment

Opportunities for Integrating Safety and Health into Sustainable Building Projects: Have You Tried the Prevention through Design (PtD) Pilot Credit?

Ten years ago the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) launched the concept of Prevention through Design (PtD), which champions preventing and controlling occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities by “designing out” or minimizing hazards and risks. Since then, many safety and health professionals have become familiar with the concept and implemented it in Read More >

Posted on by Christine Branche, Ph.D., FACE, Heather Langford, LEED AP BD+C, O+M, and Matthew E. Gillen, FAIHA4 Comments

Safer and Healthier at Any Age: Strategies for an Aging Workforce

Profound changes continue to unfold in the American workforce as Baby Boomers—Americans born between 1945 and 1964—swell the ranks of our workplaces. This has led many employers to fear the possibilities of negative impacts associated with this demographic trend.  On one hand, they are concerned that having age-gifted workers on the job may mean escalating Read More >

Posted on by L. Casey Chosewood, MD17 Comments