DeJoy Receives National Award for Paper

David DeJoy, a professor of health promotion and behavior, has received a national award recognizing outstanding, original research in the field of occupational safety and health.

DeJoy's work was named winner of the prestigious Liberty Mutual Prize, given annually by the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) and the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety. It was chosen because of how well it explained ways to either avoid or mitigate occupational accidents or promoted rehabilitation and returning to work.

DeJoy's winning scientific paper, “Behavior Change Versus Culture Change: Divergent Approaches to Managing Workplace Safety,” examined two approaches to safety management. One approach, behavior-based management, identified critical safety behavior and emphasized a link to workplace injuries and losses. The second approach focused on the fundamental importance of an organization's safety culture and how this culture shapes and influences safety behaviors and program effectiveness.

DeJoy was presented the $5,000 cash award at the annual Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Meeting on September 20 in New Orleans.

DeJoy earned his Ph.D from Pennsylvania State University and his M.A. and B.A. from the State University of New York-Geneseo. He joined the UGA faculty in 1981 and served as department head of health promotion and behavior from 1987-97 and faculty administrator for research in the College of Education from 1997-00. DeJoy is also the co-founder and director of the Workplace Health Group, a multi-disciplinary research group based in the College of Education . The group conducts research in workplace health and organizational effectiveness in partnership with business and industry. Before joining the UGA faculty, DeJoy worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C.

The IEA is comprised of 29 member societies representing about 16,000 ergonomists worldwide. The Liberty Mutual Institute for Safety, owned and operated by the Liberty Mutual Group, is an occupational safety and ergonomics research facility located in Hopkinton, MA.

Monday, September 27, 2004

WRITER: Nicole Richardson, 706/542-5889, nrichard@uga.edu
CONTACT: David M. DeJoy, 706/542-4368, ddejoy@coe.uga.edu