COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

Outcomes

Outcomes are events, occurrences, or conditions that indicate progress toward achieving the purpose of the program and reflect the results of a program activity compared to its intended purpose.

Outcomes can be categorized two ways—end and intermediate. For NIOSH occupational safety and health research programs, end outcomes are reductions in worker injury and/or illness rates. Injuries and illnesses have complex causes, and any effect of program activities on rates can take years to be seen. Therefore, outcomes are also often measured on an intermediate timeframe. Intermediate outcomes are steps that lead to end outcomes, for example, reducing the risk of a particular type of injury or illness. For occupational safety and health research programs, achieving intermediate risk reductions is as important as achieving the end outcome of decreases in injury and illness incidence rates.