The IOD is pleased to welcome Dr. Karla Armenti and the New Hampshire Occupational Health Surveillance Program (NH OHSP).
“Since occupational health and safety issues can contribute to disability, the IOD is pleased to support the work of the New Hampshire Occupational Health Surveillance Program and advance its surveillance and intervention programs,” shares Dr. Charles Drum. “This transfer also provides a unique opportunity for two CDC-funded programs at the IOD to work collaboratively: the NH OHSP and the Disability and Public Health Project.”
The NH OHSP will provide meaningful statistics to identify priority occupational safety and health issues in the state. This includes reports on a variety of core occupational health indicators based on measures of health (work-related disease, injury, or disability) or factors associated with health, such as workplace exposures, hazards or interventions. It is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The NH OHSP was previously housed at the NH Division of Public Health Services, but the Institute on Disability will now host the project through a bona fide agent agreement with the State.
“I’m excited to be part of the UNH community,” explains Dr. Armenti, Director of NH OHSP. “The IOD has a wealth of external partners and supports that will strengthen the work of the NH OHSP in expanding its research and surveillance capacity in the field of injury and disability on a variety of critical occupational health and safety related issues.”
Dr. Armenti has more than 30 years of experience in occupational safety and health with a focus on policy and public health. She has taught environmental and occupational health courses in the UNH Master of Public Health Program for over 15 years. In her work as Project Director of the NH OHSP and in teaching students, she stresses the social, political, and economic context within which occupational and environmental health function.
Dr. Armenti is a leader in occupational health surveillance and participates on several national topic-specific NIOSH workgroups. Her work is presented at national public health conferences, including the American Public Health Association and the Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists. She is an active member of the NIOSH Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC), tasked with providing advice on standards of scientific excellence, current needs in the field of occupational safety and health, and the applicability and dissemination of research findings.
