National Prevention through Design (PtD) Initiative

IntroductionThe most effective means of preventing and controlling occupational injuries, illness, and fatalities is to “design out” hazards and hazardous exposures from the workplace. There is a long history of designing for safety for the general public and to a lesser degree for workers.MethodWe now have the experience and insight from thoughtful, previous efforts to call for a comprehensive national strategy to implement a Prevention through Design (PtD) Initiative.ResultsThis paper describes that initiative in terms of four overarching areas where action can be directed: practice, policy, research, and education. To obtain stakeholder input for issues in these four areas and to focus implementation efforts, eight sector divisions of the economy will be addressed. A seven year strategy is envisioned.