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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Deborah L. Weinstock, MS, National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety and Health Training, 1050 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20036, Linda Delp, MPH, Labor Occuaptional Safety & Health program/IIR, University of California Los Angeles, Box 951478, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1478, 310-794-5964, ldelp@ucla.edu, Sharon D. Beard, IH, Worker Education and Training Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Bldg. 4401, Room 3441 East Campus, 79 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, John S. Morawetz, Center for Worker Health & Safety Education, International Chemical Workers Union (ICWUC), 329 Race Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202-3534, Janis Heple, University of California Davis Extension, 1333 Research Park Drive #251, Davis, CA 95616-4852, and Betty Szudy, WRUC, 408 Hudson St., Oakland, CA 94618-1121.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Worker Education and Training Program (WETP) funds a national network of non-profit organizations, universities, and labor unions that are committed to protecting workers and their communities by delivering high quality safety and health training to hazardous waste workers and emergency responders. The NIEHS WETP program is unique in many ways. A number of its programs utilize worker trainers who have both practical knowledge of the field and direct experience as workers. The program has also forged a number of unique training partnerships between unions, historically black colleges and universities, community-based groups, and environmental justice groups.

Since its inception in 1986, the NIEHS WETP has held four National Trainers' Exchanges (1994, 1997, 2000 and 2003). These conferences provide an opportunity for trainers from 17 different NIEHS grantee groups to come together to create new partnerships, exchange innovative training methods and approaches, and renew their energy and enthusiasm for their work as trainers. The Trainers Exchange inspires people to develop action-based training activities focused on changing workplace conditions and developing leadership skills among workers. As a result of the Trainers Exchange, NIEHS grantees have also created cutting edge worker-based impact evaluation programs (SCREP) and collaborated on creative ways to develop participatory approaches to on-line/internet training. The NIEHS WETP and the Trainers' Exchange play a critical role in developing a national movement to promote worker health and safety.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Define worker-trainers and the value of using worker-trainers to disseminate safety and health information to other workers.
• Discuss the importance of an action-based approach to training
• Describe the benefits of the Trainers Exchange model as a way to support worker health and safety education and the challenges of building a safety and health movement.

Keywords: Training, Occupational Safety

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No