Colorado State University

The CSU Department of Psychology offers training in Occupational Health Psychology (OHP). OHP is the application of psychological theories and research methods to protect and promote worker safety, health and well-being. Occupational Health Psychology takes a comprehensive view of the work environment, including the way work is organized (e.g., shift work) as well as the culture of the organization. Students from any program in the psychology department are eligible to focus on OHP, and many Health Psychology students have done so. Occupational Health Trainees involved with the OHP program have been involved in a wide range of research activities working with mentors from a variety of disciplines. Examples of research includes: health and safety among dairy farm workers; a survey of attitudes and behaviors of parents and young workers; a randomized waitlist trial of a mindfulness intervention among health care workers; social network analysis of suicide prevention organizations; and a pilot study testing a peer education intervention in collaboration with a non-governmental organization (NGO) to empower and promote the psychosocial and occupational health of women in the entertainment sector in Kathmandu, Nepal.

For more details about the OHP program, you can visit the program website.

Examples of courses

The OHP has a set of required and recommended courses. Below are examples of elective courses that graduate students with this research focus take during their doctoral training.

Course Number Course Name ERHS 679 Occupational Environmental Health Interdisciplinary Symposium ERHS 540 Principles of Ergonomics PSY792A Occupational Health Psychology PSY792D Occupational Health & Stress PSY792A Advanced Program Evaluation JTC 630 Health Communication PSY 517 Perspectives in Global Health EDOD 671 Performance Consulting and Causal Analysis

Publications and grant funding

Below are a few examples of publications and grant funding that have been received by faculty and students (in bold) associated with this research focus.

Stallones, L. High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (HICAHS), National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (9/15/2016-9/14/2021)

Stallones, L. Feasibility of a Brief Mindfulness Intervention on Hospice Care Worker Safety and Well-being, Oregon Health Sciences Workforce Center (12/1/2016-11/30/2017)

Stallones, L., Doegnes, T., Dik, B., & Valley, M. (2013). Occupation and suicide: Colorado 2004-2006. American Journal Industrial Medicine, 56, 1290-1295.

Menger, L., Stallones, L., Cross, J., Henry, K., & Chen, P. (2015). Strengthening suicide prevention networks: Interorganizational collaboration and tie strength. Psychosocial Intervention. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psi.2015.07.005

Menger, L., Pezzutti, F., Tellechea, T., Stallones, L., Rosecrance, J., Roman-Muniz, I.M. (2016). Perceptions of health and safety among immigrant Latino/a dairy workers in the US. Frontiers in Public Health, 4, 106. Doi:10.3389/fpubh.2016.00106.

Valley, M., & Stallones, L. (2017). Effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction training on health care worker safety: A randomized waitlist controlled trial. Journal of Occupational Environmental Medicine, 59(10), 935-941.