WHO: Faculty and students at the University of Central Florida, University of South Florida, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and the University of Puerto Rico, as well as several major hospitality employers throughout central Florida. The program is housed in the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Florida.
WHAT: Our work is part of the Sunshine Education and Research Center, grant number T42OH008438, funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The goal of this center to produce research, education, and outreach activities aimed at promoting healthy and safe workplaces.
Our specific program (called the Targeted Research Training, or TRT, program) aims to train the next generation of workplace professionals to identify and address threats to health, safety, and well-being in the hospitality/tourism industry. This program focuses on the underserved population of hospitality and tourism workers who have a wide and unusual range of risks in their jobs. The primary goal to develop and assess interventions aimed at promoting worker health, safety, and well-being.
WHERE: Florida and Puerto Rico
WHY: NIOSH has identified hospitality/tourism workers as an at-risk population due to various workplace demands and hazards, including seasonal/unstable employment, high concentrations of young and immigrant workers, exposure to violence, exposure to hazardous materials, among others. Florida and Puerto Rico are home to a large number of employees working in the hospitality/tourism industry.
For more questions about the Sunshine Education and Research Center and the Targeted Research Training Program, please contact Dr. Mindy Shoss at targetedresearch@ucf.edu.