Work-related injuries and illnesses continue to occur at unacceptably high rates. Interestingly, the incidence is highest among small employers whose survival is most threatened by the high cost of work-related injuries and workers' compensation. The Abacus Management Group Inc. has developed a prototype Comprehensive Occupational Safety Training Program (COST) and pilot tested it with 50 small employers from a wide range of industries. COST is a behaviorally-based safety training program designed specifically for small employers. The SBIR Phase I analyses indicate that COST is effective in reducing work-related injuries and illnesses and their associated costs. The investigators refined the prototype materials including specifically the manual, forms, video and CD ROM. Phase II proposes to conduct a randomized, controlled trial of COST and develop models to predict companies' response to interventions to control the frequency of work-related injuries. The goal is to make available to small employers a commercially viable and tested behavioral-based training program that can have an immediate and significant impact on work-related injuries/illnesses and their associated costs.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Type
Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) - Phase II (R44)
Project #
5R44OH003355-04
Application #
2869980
Study Section
Safety and Occupational Health Study Section (SOH)
Project Start
1995-09-30
Project End
1999-09-29
Budget Start
1998-09-30
Budget End
1999-09-29
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
1998
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Abacus Group
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Cranston
State
RI
Country
United States
Zip Code
02920