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The 22nd Pilot Research Project (PRP) Symposium was held as a virtual event using the event apps Whova and Gather Town. While the PRP committee decided to postpone in-person gathering for the safety and health of all participants, the PRP awardees were still able to showcase their work and present their project plans to over 100 attendees. The PRP symposium highlights various topics in occupational health and safety such as home healthcare workers and firefighters. The PRP program is a component of the University of Cincinnati NIOSH Education and Research Center.
This year’s symposium featured a keynote panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The panel discussed how the UC ERC trained the panelists to resolve NORA specific issues, the educational and career experiences of occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals, emerging trends in OSH fields, and the future of OSH professionals. All panelists are UC ERC alumni and now work in different roles at NIOSH. The panelists were;
CAPT Lisa Delaney, Associate Director, Emergency Preparedness and Response, NIOSH
Dr. Sharon Chiou, Health Scientist/Scientific Program Officer, Office of Extramural Programs, NIOSH
Dr. Mamadou Niang, Research Industrial Hygienist, Division of Field Studies and Engineering, NIOSH
Dr. Jay Vietas, Chief, Emerging Technologies Branch, NIOSH
Dr. Megan Lobaugh, Research Health Physicist, Division of Compensation Analysis and Support, NIOSH and
Dr. Douglas Trout, Medical Officer, Office of Construction Safety and Health, NIOSH.
Visit the NIOSH website to read more about how NIOSH celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.
The keynote panel consisted of six UC ERC alumni now working at NIOSH.
2020-21 PRP awardees presented their final project results. Topics included;
Home Healthcare Workers' Exposure to Bacterial and Fungal Bioaerosols
A Computer-Vision Technique to Predict Type/Level of Force Exertions
A Novel Wearable Carbon-Based Material to Shield Aircrews from Cosmic Radiation
CNT Hybrid Fabric Facemask to Filter and Deactivate Virus
Flexible and Low-voltage Carbon Nano Tube Heaters to Combat Cold Weather -- For Fire Fighters and First Responders
Wearable Carbon Monoxide Sensor for Firefighters Based on Copper Doped Graphene-Polymer Composite
Real-Time Automated Vehicle Crash Detection and Reporting System
Understanding Nurse Turnover: The Cyclical Role of Understaffing
Day 1 concluded with virtual trivia featuring some occupational safety and health related questions.
There were two virtual poster sessions during the symposium which were hosted in the Gather Town app. The poster presenters were 2021-22 PRP awardees as well as one Targeted Research Training project. The posters were;
Optimization of Phase Change Material Based Enhanced Cooling Helmets for the Firefighters
Synthesis and Fabrication of Group III-V Doped Carbon Nanotube-based Biosensors
Pressure to Attend Work when Unwell: Health and Safety Consequences among Nurses
Workplace Violence Among Young Black Workers Ages 18-24 in Southcentral Kentucky
Carbon Nanotube based Chemical Deactivation Membrane for Air Filtration
Work Stress, Poor Recovery and Burnout in Nurses
Investigation of Occupationally-Related Stress of At-Risk Workers During COVID-19
Occupational Safety and Health in the Wake of Drones
Advocacy for Occupational Safety and Health Policy and Practices to Address Stressors and Workplace Violence in Home Health Care Workers (HHCW)
The virtual poster sessions used Gather Town, a virtual space where attendees use an avatar to chat with other attendees and view posters.
After all the presentations, attendees had a chance to vote for their favorite poster and podium presentation which would be announced at the end of the event. The sessions concluded with a panel discussion which included University of Cincinnati faculty; Dr. Amit Bhattacharya (Environmental and Public Health Sciences), Dr. Cynthia Betcher (College of Nursing), Dr. Jagjit Yadav (Environmental and Public Health Sciences), and Dr. Mark Schulz (Mechanical and Materials Engineering). The panel session gave an opportunity to discuss topics in occupational safety and health and for attendees to ask questions that were not addressed in other sessions.
To conclude the symposium, Jessica Bloomer (UC ERC program manager), presented the award winners for people’s choice favorite poster and podium presenters and distinguished poster and podium presenters which a panel of judges selected. The award winners were;
Award for people’s choice poster: Synthesis and Fabrication of Group III-V Doped Carbon Nanotube-based Biosensors, Anuptha Pujari and Workplace Violence Among Young Black Workers Ages 18-24 in Southcentral Kentucky, Edrisa Sanyang
Award for people’s choice podium: Home Healthcare Workers' Exposure to Bacterial and Fungal Bioaerosols, Yao Addor and Understanding Nurse Turnover: The Cyclical Role of Understaffing, Mohsin Sultan
Award for distinguished poster: Investigation of Occupationally-Related Stress of At-Risk Workers During COVID-19, Thomas Gerding and Occupational Safety and Health in the Wake of Drones, Hoda Rahmani
Award for distinguished podium: CNT Hybrid Fabric Facemask to Filter and Deactivate Virus, Megha Chistranshi
The Whova event app contained all symposium content including agenda, live streams, recorded videos, and community discussion boards.
The use of the Whova and Gather Town event apps allowed for networking, even as a virtual event, with Leaderboard contests that encouraged attendee engagement. The community board was also available for attendees to post discussion topics, other conferences, articles, job announcements, and more. Thank you to all presenters and attendees for being flexible with a virtual event, to the Ohio Association of Occupational Health Nurses for sponsoring the event, and the PRP Steering Committee and ERC graduate students for volunteering to help with the symposium.