Respiratory Diseases Research at NIOSH: Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Respiratory diseases from occupational exposures have a major adverse effect on worker health, with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimating that deaths from work-related respiratory disease and malignancies account for about 70% of all occupational disease mortality. NIOSH has a range of research activities in the Respiratory Diseases Research Program (RDRP) that are intended to protect worker health. These activities focus on airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung diseases such as silicosis and asbestosis, respiratory infectious diseases including tuberculosis and avian influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and respiratory cancers. This report assesses the relevance of the RDRP’s activities to improve occupational safety and health and evaluates the impact that the program’s research has had in reducing work-related hazardous exposures, illnesses, and injuries. It is one of multiple reviews based on a request from NIOSH to the National Academies to independently evaluate several NIOSH programs. The review by this committee was conducted on the basis of a framework established by a parent committee established by the National Academies. That framework document established a scoring system from to 5 for impact and relevance, with 5 being the highest. Relevance of the program was evaluated in terms of the degree of research priority and connection to improvements in workplace protection. Factors taken into account include the frequency and severity of health outcomes and the number of people at risk, the structure of the program, and the degree of consideration of stakeholders’