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DeJoy receives William A. Owens Award for outstanding research in the social and behavioral sciences


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Dr. David DeJoy, Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, is the recipient of the William A. Owens Award for outstanding research in the social and behavioral sciences.

Dr. DeJoy studies the behavioral and psychological aspects of workplace safety, particularly the organizational factors that promote or obstruct it. In 1993 he authored, in the Journal of Occupational Medicine, a seminal paper that made the case for integrating organizational factors based on increased cooperation between unrelated departments to achieve common goals such as improved safety. In presenting the award to Dr DeJoy at the Creative Research Awards Banquet at the Classic Center, Bob Galen, professor of epidemiology and associate dean, made the following remarks:

"A hallmark of David DeJoy’s work and career at UGA has been an unwavering commitment to the proposition that all working men and women deserve a workplace free from harm and supportive of safety and good health. One reviewer from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health said: ‘There are but a handful of behavioral scientists who have contributed as much to the safety and health of working people as has Dr. DeJoy. Our collaborations with him—and by extension the University of Georgia—have been exceptionally rewarding and productive.’

David DeJoy was well ahead of the pack in proposing the integration of health protection and health promotion in the workplace. One reviewer said: ‘Dr. DeJoy explained the logic of such integration 15 years ago; it is only now that his ideas are being widely adopted as the norm in business practice.’

DeJoy’s model led to nationwide changes that today mean many of the nation’s largest healthcare facilities routinely conduct safety surveys, based on his measure, to assess the effectiveness of their safety programs. And his work led to important changes in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines as well.

His clear and rational research and writings apply to a number of timely problems, including protecting healthcare workers from blood-borne pathogens, reducing the risk of contracting a workplace-acquired infection such as SARS, pandemic flu—and even extend to the safe and efficient evacuation of the World Trade Center."


Contact Information

David DeJoy
dmdejoy@uga.edu