Project Summary The primary objectives of our proposed Fundamental-Plus project are to continue to maintain capacity for enhanced occupational illness and injury surveillance in Connecticut, and to perform more in-depth data analysis, investigations, and intervention activities to address new workplace vulnerabilities and health and safety challenges. The Program’s specific aims include surveillance activities, in-depth and follow-back investigations and assessments, as well as development, implementation, and evaluation of public health policies in specific workplaces and/or involving targeted worker health and safety issues of interest. These specific aims have been developed to continue to expand capacity for occupational illness and injury surveillance in Connecticut and to maintain continuity in our surveillance and intervention programs for the duration of the project period. These programs and the staff they support provide the basis for the protection of worker health in our state, not only through surveillance and intervention activities but also through the generation of ideas for how to make our program activities more efficient, effective, and beneficial to the Connecticut workforce.

Project Narrative The objectives and strategic aims for this cooperative agreement funding cycle were developed in recognition of the current occupational health surveillance capacity as well as goals from NIOSH’s National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), and the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s 2018 surveillance recommendations. The Specific Aims of the proposed Program, including three projects focused on Fundamental occupational health surveillance activities as well as two separate Fundamental-Plus projects focused on in-depth and follow-back investigation and assessment as well as development, implementation, and evaluation of public health policies in targeted workplaces, were developed to continue to expand capacity for occupational illness and injury surveillance at the Connecticut Department of Public Health and to maintain continuity in our surveillance and intervention programs for the duration of the project period. These programs and the staff they support provide the basis for the protection of worker health in our state, not only through surveillance and intervention activities but also through the generation of ideas for how to make our program activities more efficient, effective, and beneficial to the Connecticut workforce..