HELPING THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY THRIVE 

The Sunshine Education and Research Center leads the way to novel occupational health, safety and wellness training, scholarship, and practice. 

Our Mission: 

The Sunshine Education and Research Center transforms workplace quality of life through transdisciplinary education, research and practice, and industry partnerships. 

The UCF Targeted Research Training Program (TRT) is housed in the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Florida. The program consists of faculty and students at the University of Central Florida (UCF), University of South Florida (USF), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and the University of Puerto Rico, as well as several major hospitality employers throughout central Florida. As part of the Sunshine Education and Research Center, which was established by NIOSH, our goal is to produce research, education, and outreach activities aimed at promoting healthy and safe workplaces. 

NIOSH has identified hospitality/tourism workers as an at-risk population due to various workplace demands and hazards, including seasonal/unstable employment, high concentrations of young and immigrant workers, exposure to violence, exposure to hazardous materials, among others. Florida and Puerto Rico are home to a large number of employees working in the hospitality/tourism industry. 

Situated in the most visited destination in the United States, the TRT program aims to train the next generation of workplace professionals to identify and address threats to health, safety, and well-being in the hospitality/tourism industry. This program focuses on the underserved population of hospitality and tourism workers who have a wide and unusual range of risks in their jobs. Our primary goal is to develop and assess interventions aimed at promoting worker health, safety, and well-being. 

 Click on the In This Section arrow to learn more about TRT.