Occupational Health Psychology
Program Overview
In June of 2000, Kansas State University authorized the Department of Psychology to offer a new Certificate Program in the field of Occupational Health Psychology (OHP). The development of this program was supported by a grant from the American Psychological Association with funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The OHP Certificate Program is offered via distance education.
What is Occupational Health Psychology?
The emerging field of Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) emphasizes the role of psychology in research and practice aimed at the prevention of occupational stress, illness, and injury. The field covers a wide range of topics including organizational risk factors for stress, illness, and injury at work. OHP concerns the application of psychology to improve the quality of work life, and to protect and promote the safety, health, and well-being of workers. The notion of health "protection" refers to both work-site interventions designed to reduce health/injury hazards and worker education/counseling designed to promote healthy lifestyles and work behaviors. OHP is especially concerned with the dramatic transformation of work and employment that has been underway in industrial economies since the 1980s (e.g., flexible employment and production processes), and how changing organizational structures and processes are influencing the health and well-being of workers and their families. 1
1 This statement is a modified version from the NIOSH web site on Occupational Health Psychology (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ohp.html).
