ERC Occupational Health Psychology

Program Goals

The goal of the Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) is to educate doctoral level research scientists in OHP and Total Worker Health (TWH) disciplines. Additionally, the program will offer a certificate program open to both JHU trainees and individuals outside the center. In addition to foundational coursework focused on psychology principles in OSH, the program will develop courses in Occupational Mental Health and TWH. Program courses will integrate curricula from the departments of Environmental Health and Engineering, Mental Health, and International Health. Additionally, doctoral trainees will receive training in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Background

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes the importance of applying psychology to benefit worker well-being and promote safety and protect health, while the need for graduate training in the related fields of workforce mental health and occupational health psychology has been promoted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for decades and is foundational to NIOSH cross-sector Healthy Work Design and Well-Being and Total Worker Health programs. The Johns Hopkins ERC’s proposed training program in Occupational Health Psychology aims to respond to the stated needs in this nascent field by training researchers and academics using a public health approach. Given the substantial public health research gaps in occupational health psychology, healthy work design, and Total Worker Health, the primary focus of this program will be to train PhD research scientists.

In addition, given the substantial need to educate existing practitioners in a wide variety of disciplines in occupational health psychology and Total Worker Health, the program will also offer a certificate program that will be open to Johns Hopkins students as well as occupational health practitioners outside the institution. The new Occupational Health Psychology Program’s core doctoral curricula will include foundational coursework in public mental health and occupational health, along with two newly developed courses specific to the program. The first, a three-credit course in Occupational Mental Health, will explore psychological theories of work, frameworks and evidence regarding stressors in the workplace and their effects, and health outcomes associated with poor mental health in the workplace. The second, a three-credit course in Total Worker Health, will introduce students to holistic approaches to benefit worker physical and mental health and improve organizational outcomes by addressing psychosocial factors, organizational conditions, and environmental exposures in the workplace. Coursework is drawn from across the departments of Environmental Health and Engineering, Mental Health, and International Health, thereby providing a robust and rigorous training experience. Doctoral students will additionally benefit from excellence in methodological training both through the departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, as well as the three core departments, culminating in a suite of both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Graduates will be prepared to add to the body of knowledge regarding the current global context and changing nature of work, including our understanding of job stress theory, organizational risk factors for stress, and physical and mental health outcomes, with rigorous training in the theoretical foundations of workplace mental health and qualitative and quantitative methodologies required in future research.