Ryan B. Olson, Ph.D.
- Professor, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences
- Professor, OHSU-PSU School of Public Health
- PI, Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences
Biography
Dr. Olson is an Occupational Health Psychologist whose research program has specialized in occupational fatality surveillance and prevention, and safety, health, and well-being interventions for isolated (lone) workers in demanding occupations (e.g., commercial drivers, home care workers). His areas of contribution to science include: effective Total Worker Health® interventions for isolated populations; behavioral self-monitoring applied to workplace behavior change and transfer of training; self-assessment of ergonomic and safety exposures; and environmental and social motivational variables.
Dr. Olson served as a primary faculty member at the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences from 2005-2023. In 2024, Dr. Olson transitioned to a secondary faculty role within the Institute. His new primary position is at the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Utah where he continues his research program and trains graduate students in Occupational Health Psychology. During his time at OHSU Dr. Olson established an Internationally regarded research program with commercial drivers (funded by NHLBI and CDC/NIOSH). He was also a founding investigator and then Co-Director (with Leslie Hammer) of the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center – a NIOSH Center of Excellence in Total Worker Health®. And, for over a decade, he helped lead Oregon’s Occupational Public Health Program (funded by CDC/NIOSH) in partnership with colleagues at the Oregon Health Authority.
In his current secondary faculty role at the Institute Dr. Olson collaborates with faculty and participates as an Investigator in the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center where he leads the COMPASS for Navigating Pain Project.
Education and training
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Degrees
- M.A., 1999, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Western Michigan University
- Ph.D., 2002, AppliedBehavior Analysis, Western Michigan University
Areas of interest
- Occupational safety and health interventions
- Total Worker Health®
- Lone workers
- Obesity
- Sleep and shift work
- Diet
- Exercise
Additional information
Publications
Publications
Shaping the future of industrial-organizational psychology
Industrial and Organizational PsychologyLater circadian timing and increased sleep timing variability are associated with attenuations in overnight blood pressure dipping among chronic nightshift workers
Sleep healthTranslating an Intervention to Address Chronic Pain among Home Care Workers
Journal of occupational and environmental medicineWho's behind the Wheel? Work and Health Backgrounds of New Transit Bus Operators
Journal of occupational and environmental medicineCOMMunity of Practice And Safety Support for Navigating Pain (COMPASS-NP)
TrialsDescribing Physical Activity Patterns of Truck Drivers Using Actigraphy
Safety and Health at WorkPrimary Prevention of Weight Gain Among New Bus Operators
Journal of occupational and environmental medicineThe Tech4Rest Randomized Controlled Trial
Journal of occupational and environmental medicineRapid changes in overnight blood pressure after transitioning to early-morning shiftwork
SleepThe Impact of COVID-19 on Transit Workers
Annals of Work Exposures and HealthA Comparison of Safety, Health, and Well-Being Risk Factors Across Five Occupational Samples
Frontiers in Public HealthBus operators' body weight changes during their first 2 years of work
Journal of occupational and environmental medicineExploring biopsychosocial correlates of pain, pain management strategies, and risk for opioid misuse among home care workers in Washington State
Home Health Care Services QuarterlyAdvancing the safety, health, and well-being of commercial driving teams who sleep in moving semi-Trucks the tech4rest pilot study
Journal of occupational and environmental medicineChallenging aggressive behaviors experienced by personal support workers in comparison to home care workers
International journal of environmental research and public healthDoes experiencing an injury claim impact small construction company leaders' participation in a fall protection survey?
Annals of Work Exposures and HealthProcess Evaluation of a Mobile Weight Loss Intervention for Truck Drivers
Safety and Health at WorkSustaining sleep
Journal of Occupational Health PsychologyFrom research-to-practice
International journal of environmental research and public healthProtecting workers in the home care industry
Home Health Care Services QuarterlyResearch methodologies for total worker health®
Journal of occupational and environmental medicineTotal worker health1 intervention for construction workers alters safety, health, well-being measures
Journal of occupational and environmental medicineManagement of obstructive sleep apnea in commercial motor vehicle operators
Journal of Clinical Sleep MedicineAge differences in workplace intervention effects on employees’ nighttime and daytime sleep
Sleep healthSafety and health support for home care workers
American journal of public healthSleep, dietary, and exercise behavioral clusters among truck drivers with obesity
Journal of occupational and environmental medicineThe effects of a cluster randomized controlled workplace intervention on sleep and work-family conflict outcomes in an extended care setting
Sleep healthToolbox talks to prevent construction fatalities
Safety Science