Mountain and Plains Education and Research Center

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The mountain and plains states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota share a common set of problems that outstrip existing occupational health resources: rising population, large groups of underserved Native American and Latino workers, region-specific work-related health issues (e.g. mining, energy, agriculture), and geographic distance from educational centers of excellence in occupational health. The Mountain and Plains Education and Research Center (MAP ERC) was founded in 2007 to incorporate faculty and students from five institutions of higher learning into an integrated, multidisciplinary Center, to improve worker health. The objectives of the MAP ERC are to help promote interdisciplinary graduate education in occupational health; to provide needs-based continuing education and outreach in an underserved region; to support pilot research projects that advance the National Occupational Research Agenda; and to improve minority recruitment and retention in the allied fields of occupational health, with particular emphasis on Native Americans and Latino groups. The MAP ERC incorporates five training programs of the University of Colorado Denver, Colorado State University and National Jewish Health. Core programs include Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Medicine Residency. Three allied occupational health programs offer graduate training in Health Physics, Ergonomics, and Occupational Health Psychology. All provide either graduate (masters or doctoral) or post-doctoral/residency level training. All programs are committed to providing a highly interdisciplinary educational experience. A new Targeted Research Training Program is proposed, to promote faculty and student integration and translational "R2P" research that serve community needs. Continuing Education, with particular emphasis on state-of-the-art online courses will provide training for over 1400 practitioners annually. The Outreach Program, assisted by the Community Partnership/Continuing Education Advisory Committee brings together many regional professional organizations and creates opportunities for addressing workplace challenges. The Outreach program also emphasizes the culturally sensitive collaboration with Native American and Latino occupational health organizations. Working in concert with university and community organizations, the MAP ERC will continue to address the need for greater diversity and inclusion of minorities in occupational health professions. RELEVANCE: The Mountain and Plains Education and Research Center fills a regional need to improve worker health in a seven state region by training more occupational health professionals, conducting relevant occupational health research, and offering needs-based continuing educational opportunities. The long term goal is to improve worker health and safety and develop a more racially and ethnically diverse occupational health workforce to serve their communities.