There is a strong need for professionals trained in the methods of occupational injury prevention. Increasingly, the problems to be solved are challenging and complex, and these problems require interdisciplinary training and multi-disciplinary collaboration to solve. Thus this exciting program was designed and implemented to address these major needs.

The Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health’s Occupational Injury Prevention Research Training Program (OIPRT) is a unique program in the nation that trains doctoral students in occupational injury prevention with an emphasis in either Occupational Safety Engineering (OSE) or Occupational Injury Epidemiology (OIE). The OIPRT program is jointly administered by Drs. Bloswick and Hegmann. The emphasis in OSE is located in the Department of Mechanical Engineering under the direction of Dr. Donald Bloswick. The degree awarded under the OSE emphasis is a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. The OIPRT program with an emphasis in OIE is located within the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine under the direction of Dr. Kurt Hegmann and is closely coordinated with Dr. Bloswick. The degree awarded under the OIE emphasis is a Ph.D. in Public Health.

Our Origin

This NIOSH-funded Occupational Injury Prevention Research Training (OIPRT) program was initially begun in 2001 in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In 2004, the program was modified into the fully interdisciplinary effort that it is today between the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Public Health Program (as well as aspects of the NIOSH-funded Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational & Environmental Health) in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. The program was expanded to include active participation by the Worker’s Compensation Fund of Utah, Utah OSHA, the national OSHA Technical Center that is housed in Salt Lake City, and the Intermountain Injury Control Research Center.

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