University of Puerto Rico Caribbean Center for Professional Industrial Hygiene Training

Research and Related Other Project Information Project Summary/Abstract The Industrial Hygiene Program from the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, is submitting an application for renewal of the NIOSH Training Grant “University of Puerto Rico – Caribbean Center for Professional Industrial Hygiene Training.”

The Training Program Grant (TPG) requested proposes, as a main goal, to train approximately 50 students enrolled in the UPR Master of Science in Industrial Hygiene Program, in the period starting in July of 2024 and ending in June of 2029. Each appointment will have a duration of 24 months. The UPR Industrial Hygiene

Program curriculum was reviewed and revised in the recent past, to include emergency management, occupational toxicology, and three 1-credit laboratory courses on occupational sampling, physical risks evaluation and control, and chemical risks evaluation and control, respectively, resulting in a stronger curriculum

in industrial hygiene, with a total of 51 credits in industrial hygiene courses, combined with 15 credits in core public health courses. The curriculum proposed culminates with 480 hours of internship, in an occupational environment, to allow the students to sediment the knowledge acquired during their studies in industrial hygiene.

Recruiting efforts for the IH program have been reviewed, and now are conducted by direct contact with specific candidates from biology and chemistry, as well as industrial and environmental engineering programs in Puerto Rico, with the collaboration of students (trainees) who visit the academic institutions where they graduated in

undergraduate programs, to promote an increase in applications to the UPR IH Program, at the same time promoting inclusion. The response has been very good, although applications for enrollment in higher education institutions, both public and private, have decreased in the past three years in Puerto Rico. For the current

academic period of 2023/2024, seven students were admitted, short of the program goal of ten admissions per year. However, the graduation rate is high, usually above 80%. In addition to continuing and enhancing the efforts reported in this paragraph, the IH program has officially established a part-time curricular sequence that

can be completed in three years, and is attractive to candidates that work full-time, increasing the reach of the program. The overall objective of this requested grant is to continue providing Puerto Rico and the continental United States with highly trained industrial hygienists, proficient in both the Spanish and the English languages. The

graduates of the UPR Industrial Hygiene program are in high demand. As an example, out of nine students who graduated in June of 2023, eight have reported that are employed as industrial hygienists, one in the United Staes, and seven in Puerto Rico; one did not respond to our request for information.

The graduate degree in industrial hygiene at UPR does not require a thesis. However, program faculty are almost continuously developing projects, both funded and not, which provide opportunities for students to engage in research. Students also participate in academic activities. For example, we currently have a second year student

working as a TA to provide mentoring in biostatistics, a five-credit core course required for newly admitted students. The UPR IH Program has an advisory Committee, with five components from the industrial hygiene sector, and two IH faculty members. The committee met on October 19, 2023, and deliberated on some revisions to be

performed on program goals and objectives. The program training plan intends to use grant funds on tuition and fees and stipends, to promote equity, and travel activities to promote both equity and inclusion. Participation in conferences and similar activities represents a great opportunity for trainee outreach.

The UPR industrial hygiene program commitment with this renewal application is to continue working to improve the program, with the very important contribution from the Training Program Grant, and attempt to become a benchmark for other industrial hygiene programs.