What to know
This page describes the Disaster Science Responder Research (DSRR) Program. The program develops and implements tools, policies, partnerships, and procedures to allow for real-time research during public health emergencies. The program also identifies and conducts research to perform outside the scope of an emergency to protect workers in the future.
![person wearing protective glasses and clothing looking into a microscope](/niosh/media/images/2024/05/Thumbnail_Disaster-Science-Responder-Research-Program.jpg)
Overview
The DSRR Program looks at all workers impacted by a disaster or public health emergency. This includes workers beyond traditional response and recovery workers.
Research conducted when a disaster or public health emergency occurs can include:
- Impact of a new exposure
- Unexpected or severe health effects
- Effectiveness of a proposed intervention
- Mental health and resilience issues
- Disease outcomes with latency periods
Research priorities
Strategic Goals
- Identify critical topic areas to enhance safety and health among all workers impacted by public health emergencies
- Address major logistical, technical, and administrative challenges associated with conducting research during a public health emergency
- Identify existing data collection capabilities and information resources to use or modify for occupational research
- Ensure study findings are rapidly shared to inform the ongoing response
Topic Areas for COVID-19
The program identifies critical topic areas to address research gaps that can be studied outside the scope of an ongoing response. The critical topic areas for COVID-19 research include:
- Economics
- Engineering Controls
- Epidemiology and Surveillance
- Mental Health
- Occupational Environmental and Exposure Assessment
- Occupational Violence
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Transmission and Occupational Health
- Zoonosis