Environmental Health Sciences Research Center (EHSRC)

The mission of the EHSRC is to continually improve knowledge and awareness of environmental health-based information that improves the quality of life among rural and agricultural populations.
The goals of the EHSRC are to:

• coordinate and nurture highly productive interdisciplinary environmental health sciences research with a focus on reducing adverse health effects of environmental contaminants among rural and agricultural populations
• promote research interactions between existing environmental health academic units, enhance ongoing environmental health research, and facilitate initiation of new collaborative and interdisciplinary environmental health research
• translate research findings to policy to improve the health and environment in agricultural and rural areas
• serve as a technical resource to the State of Iowa, the region, the nation, and to international agencies in the area of agricultural and rural environmental health.

Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health (GPCAH)

Serving nine states of the Upper Midwest (ND, SD, NE, KS, MO, IA, MN, WI and IL), the GPCAH is dedicated to finding ways to protect and promote the health and safety of farmers, farm workers, farm families, and their neighbors. The Center conducts multidisciplinary research, develops and evaluates novel disease and injury prevention models, trains health professionals, provides technical assistance, and maintains links with agricultural health and safety professionals in the region, nationally, and internationally. To address these objectives, the Center is organized in four core units: Administrative Planning and Outreach, Research, Prevention/Intervention, and Education/Translation.

Healthier Workforce Center for Excellence (HWCE)

The HWCE was established by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 2006 as one of three centers dedicated to improving the health of workers nationally through integrated wellness and ergonomic research, collaboration with peer institutions, and dissemination of successful interventions.
The Center is designed to:

• implement, evaluate and compare two health protection/health promotion models for the private and public sectors: a) an intervention based on an integrated worker safety/health promotion committee, and b) an intervention using health counseling to integrate the delivery of health protection and health promotion services in the public sector
• establish a learning network of interactive partnerships with employers, employee groups (including unions), and health organizations
• serve as a state and national resources for information, education, and policy related to employee health programs

Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety

As the NIOSH-funded Education and Research Center (ERC) for Federal Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska), the Heartland Center provides graduate training in industrial hygiene, occupational health nursing, occupational medicine (residency), ergonomics, agricultural safety & health, occupational injury prevention, and occupational epidemiology. The Center also provides post-graduate/continuing education courses for professionals to update their skills in occupational health and safety and offers a pilot grant research program.

Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC)

Traumatic injury, both intentional and unintentional, is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of premature death measured in years of productive life lost. Established in 1990, the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC) uses interdisciplinary research to control and prevent injuries, especially in rural communities. Over the last five years, the IPRC has grown to include 66 researchers from 23 departments in five colleges, as well as a wide network of community and government collaborators. The Center includes six interdisciplinary Expert Research Teams, funds pilot and research projects, and supports Research, Education, and Outreach cores. The six Expert Teams are organized around our priority research topics: Road Traffic Safety; Interpersonal Violence; Intervention and Translation Science; Rural Acute Care; Global Injury and Violence; and Sports and Recreational Injury Prevention.

Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (I-CASH)

I-CASH was created in 1990 by Iowa’s state legislature to identify and prevent health and safety problems among Iowa’s farm communities. It functions as a statewide network of public and private agricultural health and safety organizations, with the organizational hub at the Institute for Rural and Environmental Health. The mission of I-CASH is to enhance the health and safety of Iowa’s agricultural community by establishing and coordinating prevention and education programs. Among the numerous outreach, prevention, and research programs are three core programs:

• AgriSafe Network – The only statewide network of hospitals and clinics in the country providing preventive health services specifically tailored to the needs of farmers and their families.
• Certified Safe Farms – A voluntary, incentive-based program to enhance farmer health and safety through preventive health screenings, farm work environment enhancement, and education.
• Agricultural Occupational Health Training Program – This program trains health care professionals to prevent occupational illnesses and injuries in the farm community. The target audience is nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, physician assistants, physical therapists, and other interested health care providers. This training and certification is also designed to support the establishment of a member clinic in the AgriSafe Network.