UConn-UMass Partnership Will Promote a Healthier Workforce

Integrates health, wellness, and safety programs

The University of Connecticut has partnered with the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and other private and public sector entities to form the Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW).

The joint initiative is funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its primary objective is to establish Centers for Excellence to Promote a Healthier Workforce that will assess the value of the integration or coordination of health protection and health promotion in the workplace. This will be accomplished by conducting trans-disciplinary research, education, and translation projects.

CPH-NEW will greatly enhance public health by integrating two core public health areas, occupational health and safety (OHS) and health promotion and education (HPE), linking primary prevention to the workplace, and the workplace to primary prevention. It will evaluate whether this strategy provides enhanced health benefits and/or greater cost-effectiveness, and evaluate both opportunities and obstacles to achieving this integration.