ERC Receives $1 Million from NIOSH

David Christiani, professor of occupational medicine and epidemiology in the Department of Environmental Health, and director of the Harvard Education and Research Center for Occupational Health and Safety (ERC), has announced that the center has received $1.3 million dollars from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health to support new core training measures.

Occupational Health Services, a unit co-led by Eileen McNeely, instructor in occupational health, and Allard Dembe, associate professor of occupational health at the U-Mass Medical Center, and an adjunct faculty member at HSPH, trains pre- and post-doctoral candidates in the social and economic impact of occupational disease and injury and in research in policy and delivery of services.

The Occupational Injury Prevention track, led by Jack Dennerlein, assistant professor of ergonomics and safety, and Melissa Perry, instructor in occupational health, trains engineers and epidemiologists in injury prevention.

The addition of the two new training tracks expands the breadth and depth of training and research opportunities in the areas of workplace health and safety.

CHP to Hold Free Yoga, Fitness and ‘Gumboot Dancing’ Classes

At the end of January, the Center for Health Promotion (CHP) will start sponsoring free health programs that are open to all students, staff and faculty at HSPH. Group fitness/muscle conditioning will be on Wednesdays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Yoga classes will be on Thursdays from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., and "gumboot dancing," a dance/aerobic workout ("gumboot dancing" is a specific dance thought to have originated in South Africa), will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Visit www.hsph.harvard.edu/chp for dates and locations. Information will also be available in the display case in the hallway between the Kresge Building and Building 1 after January 21. No experience is necessary.

Former HSPH student and certified aerobics instructor Kirstin Newby, ScD ‘01, MPH, MS, will teach the group fitness/muscle conditioning class. Newby is now a postdoctoral associate at the Human Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University.

"I really enjoy helping people develop a fitness program and supporting people to make exercise a regular part of their lives," said Newby, "and it helps me to keep in shape, too."

She added, "There are a lot of other health needs among members of the HSPH community, and that is why I started to work with Steven Gortmaker, the director of the center, on the administrative end of the center."

Toby Bernstein, staff member in the Department of Health and Social Behavior, will teach the yoga class. Ogo Okpala, MPH ‘02, in the Department of International Health, will teach "gumboot" dancing.

"The center is very excited to see the addition of ‘gumboot’ dancing," said Newby. "Not only is it a great aerobic workout, it is also great fun. Ogo hopes the class will learn a dance to perform at International Night."

In trying to better understand the health needs of the HSPH community, Newby developed and administered an informal survey of students, faculty and staff who were in Sebastian’s cafeteria over a two-day period in August. The survey asked more than 200 participants to identify types of health programs they would like to see offered at HSPH. Fitness classes (65 percent) received the most responses, followed by nutrition education, stress reduction and yoga. Forty percent of participants were interested in massage therapy, while approximately one-third of the sample expressed interest in classes about weight management, depression/mental health and self-defense. One-quarter of participants were interested in programs about smoking cessation. Visit the CHP web site to see all of the survey results.

The survey results will be used to help develop new directions for health programs and activities at HSPH. The center invites students interested in becoming more involved in CHP, whether by leading programs or helping in administration, to contact Renee Boynton, MPH ‘02, in the Department of Health and Social Behavior.