Total Worker Health®: Advancing Well-Being in the Workplace

Class description

Total Worker Health®: Advancing Well-Being in the Workplace

March 23 - May 4, 2026

Join us in a combined learning environment that includes 6 weeks of self-paced learning and three days of live, virtual, Instructor-led learning on Total Worker Health®.

Total Worker Health is a comprehensive, research-to-practice approach that supports well-integrated policies, programs, and practices to protect workers from different work-related safety and health hazards and promote worker well-being. This course is designed to equip working professionals to apply the Total Worker Health approach in their own organization and to communicate with various stakeholders about its value. It focuses on evidence-informed solutions rooted in safety science, occupational health psychology, and human and organizational performance goals. 

This 26- hour course involves completing 10 hours of virtual instructor-led class time and 16 hours of self-paced e-learning over 6 weeks. Enrolled participants are required to follow the sequence of the self-paced modules using Canvas Learning Management System and to attend three pre-scheduled virtual instructor-led sessions using Zoom Video Conference format. Class sizes are small to allow unique attention to each participant's needs and one-on-one interaction with the instructors. No prior knowledge of Total Worker Health is required, but enrolled students should be familiar with the field of occupational health and safety. This course is offered twice a year: in the Spring and the Fall.

This course serves as the key required course for individuals enrolling in the joint UW DEOHS CE/OHWC Total Worker Health Certificate Program. Individuals not seeking the Certificate may enroll and attend the course as a standalone.

Course Requirement & Schedule: Please contact ce@uw.edu if you are unable to make any of the virtual Instructor-led sessions to work out accommodations.

• From March 23 to May 4, 2026, complete 16 hours self-paced modules; and,

• Attend three instructor-led, virtual sessions:

  • April 6, 2026 from 12pm to 3pm PST

  • April 20, 2026 from 12pm to 3pm PST

  • May 4, 2026 from 9am to 2pm PST

Audience: Health and safety professionals and any other professionals intersecting with occupational health, such as human resources, educators, healthcare providers, labor leaders, risk management specialists, wellness specialists, etc.

Course Instructors:

Four instructors plus eight guest lecture experts in different TWH topics.

Katia Costa-Black, PT, PhD (she/her/hers)

Senior Manager for Education and Partnerships at the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, MPI Outreach Core at the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), and Affiliate Faculty at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health.

Katia is the course lead- instructor. She has more than 20 years of experience as a practitioner, researcher, and educator in Human Factors/Ergonomics and workplace injury/disability prevention. Her experience includes the design and implementation of several types of workplace prevention programs —whether focused on system ergonomics or managing illnesses/injuries. Over the last nine years, she has been an active advocate for the application of the Total Worker Health approach vis-à-vis her educational activities, participation in several national and international committees, and consulting practice. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy, a Master’s degree in Ergonomics and Biomechanics, and a PhD in Industrial Engineering. Additionally, she has completed a 3-year post-professional diploma in transdisciplinary research applied to work disability prevention and a post-doctoral research fellowship in evidence synthesis and program evaluation/implementation.

Liu-Qin Yang, PhD (she/her/hers)

Professor of Psychology, Portland State University

Liu-Qin (LQ) is the course co-lead instructor. She is a professor of Applied Psychology at Portland State University (PSU). She holds a PhD in industrial-organizational psychology, with specializations in occupational health psychology and quantitative methodologies. Liu-Qin specializes in issues of work stress and work engagement, particularly workplace mistreatment and emotion management and their implications for the health/safety/well-being/engagement of workers from various industries. She is the director of the Occupational Health Psychology-Total Worker Health® training program. She is a fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She is also the President-Elect of the Society for Occupational Health Psychology. Liu-Qin has given 40+ workshops/presentations to audiences around the globe, including audiences in private industries, government sectors and non-profit organizations. She was also a project manager for projects focused on employee well-being, selection, and training for a few years.

Justin Molocznik, MS, CSP, CHST (he/him/his)

Safety Director, JTM Construction

Justin has over 15 years of occupational health and safety experience. He holds an MS in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Kansas State University including graduate work in Occupational Health Psychology. Justin currently serves as the President of the Board representing Construction with the Washington State Governors Conference. Additionally, he serves as the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Region I Vice-President and has previously served as Region I Area Director and president of the Puget Sound Chapter. He has also served on ASSP’s Editorial Review Board for “Professional Safety Journal” and is currently the author of “Good to Know” featured bi-monthly in the journal.

Naomi DuCharme (she/her/hers)

Founder, Principal Consultant & Coach, Integrating Wellness Solutions

With over 20 years of management experience and a decade dedicated to occupational safety and health within the private construction and energy sectors, Naomi is deeply committed to advancing health, safety, and wellbeing in her home state of Alaska. Naomi offers Workplace Wellbeing Consulting, grounded in TWH, as well as Leadership & Recovery Coaching as an integrated approach to not only transform the systems that shape our workplaces, but create a supportive space for the leaders behind the systems to transform as well.

Accreditation:

A certificate of completion for Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) will be awarded following course completion. 

Additional professional development credit available upon request:

• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
• Certified Public Health Professionals (CPH)
• Certified Safety Professionals (CSP)