About
The Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW) is a Center for Excellence to evaluate multiple models for integrating health promotion with occupational health interventions, with a strong emphasis on musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and mental health outcomes; the underlying role of work organization; and the importance of worker involvement in program design and implementation.
The Center is a joint initiative of the University of Massachusetts Lowell (Work Environment, Community Health, Nursing) and the University of Connecticut (Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Occupational Health Psychology, Allied Health), with numerous private and public sector partners.
Primary funding of the Center comes from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
The Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW) is a joint effort between investigators from two major public universities in the New England area. The key academic units are the Department of Work Environment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell) and, at the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC),the Divisions of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (Farmington), Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Storrs), and Allied Health and Health Promotion (Storrs).
CPH-NEW researchers are from a variety of academic disciplines and have extensive expertise in workplace health and safety as well as health promotion and education. They enjoy strong connections to private and public organizations and a robust educational and outreach infrastructure. The Center has established a number of partnerships with private sector firms, labor organizations and state agencies.
Both universities also benefit from cross-disciplinary centers and programs that combine research in basic and behavioral sciences with outreach and education. Key relevant areas of activity include:
- Workplace ergonomics and organizational research: Dept.of Work Environment, Kerr Ergonomics Institute, and Job Content Questionnaire Center, UMass Lowell; Ergonomics Technology Center, UC
- Health promotion and nutrition: ConnectiFIT program, UC; Dept. of Nursing, UMass Lowell
- Occupational health psychology: Division of Industrial/Organizational Psychology, UC; Community and Social Psychology program, UMass Lowell
- Community health outreach and education: Center for Health/HIV Intervention and Prevention, UC; Dept. of Community Health and Sustainability, UMass Lowell
- Ethel Donaghue Tripp Center: Center for Health Policy and Primary Care Research, UC