A low-cost mobile health approach to improve workplace safety in Malaysia with lessons for U.S. workers
Official title: Enhancing Malaysian Workers' Safety and Health through Safety Culture and Climate mHealth Interventions
Funded at Oregon Health & Science University · NIH-11608504 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A scalable, smartphone-based safety program being developed in Malaysia aims to reduce injuries in high-risk industries and show how it could be adapted for U.S. workers.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Oregon Health & Science University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Portland, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2024 |
| Project end | April 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $274,571 |
| NIH project number | 4R33TW012599-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11608504 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Workers in high-risk industries in Malaysia (and future U.S. workers in similar roles) who have access to a smartphone and basic internet.
✕Less likely to help
Workers without smartphones or reliable internet access may not benefit from this mHealth intervention.
What this research studies
This project creates a low-resource mHealth intervention to promote safer work practices and a stronger safety culture in Malaysia’s manufacturing, construction, and healthcare sectors. It will be designed for minimal time, internet, and smartphone use so it can be widely adopted in resource-limited settings and later adapted for U.S. workplaces with immigrant and LMIC-origin workers. The team will implement the program, monitor its use, and measure changes in safety behaviors and injury outcomes to determine scalability and potential impact in higher-resource settings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the approach could reduce workplace injuries and be adapted for similar high-risk jobs in the United States.
How similar studies have gone: Past interventions targeting safety culture often require substantial resources; this project tests a scalable, low-resource model that could be more broadly implementable.
Where this research is happening
-
Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Huang, Yueng-Hsiang Emily — Oregon Health & Science University
- Study coordinator: Huang, Yueng-Hsiang Emily
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.