Total Worker Health® Program Readies NIOSH for Next 50 Years

Abstract

As NIOSH commemorates its 50th anniversary, the NIOSH Total Worker Health® Program reflects on its past while focusing on leading the field of occupational safety and health into the future. The past and current successes of the Total Worker Health discipline are rooted in the fundamental beliefs that work and workplaces should be safe and healthy, that it is unacceptable to trade a worker’s health for wages, and that protections should extend to all workers regardless of industry, occupation, job title, or status of employment. Centered in the approach is the belief that work should be an ongoing, enriching source of well-being for workers, their families, and communities. Total Worker Health (TWH) is defined 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. This approach prioritizes a hazard-free work environment for all workers. It also brings together all aspects of work in integrated interventions that collectively address worker safety, health, and well-being.