OccHealthSci February 2026 Newsletter
- Shaun McGillis
- Feb 1
- 3 min read
The latest news, updates, and events from OccHealthSci
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Professional development
Total Worker Health® Solutions for Construction
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront, Portland, OR Construction Mental Health & Wellbeing Conference Reserve your seat today
Drawing on lessons from construction and other industries, this workshop explores how the Total Worker Health® (TWH) approach helps leaders and managers adopt integrated strategies to protect workers from harm while advancing mental well-being. Participants will examine root causes of poor working conditions, identify gaps in traditional health and safety practices, and learn how to apply TWH principles to create safer, healthier, and more resilient workplaces in construction.
Participants will be able to:
Define Total Worker Health and explain how it addresses root causes of poor working conditions while supporting mental well-being
Demonstrate why TWH is needed and describe its benefits for employers, crew members, managers, and public owners
Identify gaps in current health and safety management practices and explore strategies to integrate TWH into existing systems
Highlight successful strategies based on TWH principles that can be applied in the construction industry
Total Worker Health®: Advancing well-being in the workplace
Part of the University of Washington's Occupational Safety and Health Continuing Education program.
March 23 - May 4, 2026
Virtual Instructor-led
Course credits: 2.6
Seats available: 19
Total Worker Health® (TWH) is a comprehensive, research-to-practice approach that supports well-integrated policies, programs, and practices to protect workers from different work-related safety and health hazards and promote worker well-being. This course is designed to equip working professionals to apply the TWH approach in their own organization and to communicate with various stakeholders about its value. It focuses on evidence-informed solutions rooted in safety science, occupational health psychology, and human and organizational performance goals.
OccHealthSci Sponsored Programs
Oregon Healthy Workforce Center
The Oregon Healthy Workforce Center (OHWC) looks forward to seeing you at the 2026 Construction Mental Health Summit on February 23-26 in Portland, Oregon. Join OHWC’s Dr. Katia Costa-Black for a preconference workshop: “Total Worker Health® solutions for construction.” Then, on Wednesday, Feb. 25, join OHWC’s Dr. Leslie Hammer for the breakout session: “Innovations in mental health promotion: Evidence-based mental health strategies for supervisors.” And on Thursday, Feb. 26, join the Institute’s Drs. Erin Flynn and Katia Costa-Black for the breakout session Respect works: Creating positive jobsite culture through adoption of evidence-informed practices.”
Learn more about the Oregon Health Workforce Center, including interventions to improve worker health and other resources, current and past research projects, and other resources.
Occupational Public Health & OR-FACE Programs
The Oregon Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (OR-FACE) Program recently published a hazard alert on winter weather. The hazard alert tells real stories about some of the incidents that have occurred in Oregon workplaces since 2003. The hazard alert also provides prevention recommendations (safety tips) to help prevent similar incidents.
Learn more about OR-FACE, including our fatality investigations and toolbox talks, by visiting our website. To download and receive new publications including investigative reports and other OR-FACE publications, please join our mailing list.
OccHealthSci Research, Blog and Events
Stay up to date on the latest basic, clinical, and applied research at OccHealthSci, and learn about our partnerships and community engagement at the Oregon and the Workplace blog.
Research Briefs
Breaking down hospital silos: A ticket to protecting patients and workers
A team of researchers from the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences and OHSU want to help hospitals reduce patient and healthcare provider injuries by providing a framework of four easy to follow recommendations. Read more about the recommendations.
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