# Rhode Island EHS-Net Practice Based Research to Improve Food Safety

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · RHODE ISLAND STATE DEPT OF HEALTH · 2022 · $192,587

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract: Rhode Island EHS-Net Practice Based Research to Improve Food
Safety
 The overarching goal of the research being proposed by the Rhode Island Department
of Health (RIDOH), Center for Food Protection (CFP) is to improve the practice of environmental
health services by maintaining participation in the Environmental Health Specialist Network
(EHS-Net) and conducting practice-based research to identify and prevent environmental risk
factors contributing to foodborne illness. The specific aims include: (1) Conducting foodborne
outbreak environmental assessments and reporting findings to the National Environmental
Assessment; (2) Identifying and improving our understanding of environmental factors
associated with retail food safety and identify interventions that can be implemented on a
national basis; (3) Reducing Illness through Investigations and Evaluating Food Safety Service
Programs; and (4) Developing and disseminating findings from EHS-Net projects.
 AIM 1 will directly contribute to the identification of risk factors that are associated with
foodborne illness outbreaks. Rhode Island will conduct environmental assessments during
100% of foodborne illness investigations and report these findings to NEARS. AIM 2 addresses
the participation in CDC multisite studies which will contribute to the not only the identification of
risk factors associated with foodborne illness but also the interventions to address those risk
factors. With eight ESH-Net sites across the country, the representation of these studies will
make the findings more generalizable to the Unites States and will have a significant impact on
reducing foodborne illness in the nation. AIM 3 details the Rhode Island specific projects that
will help to close the gap on topics related to Norovirus interventions and prevention, the impact
of having a certified manager at all times and improving environmental assessments during
foodborne illness outbreak investigations. Lastly, AIM 4 emphasis the importance of
disseminating the findings from AIM’s 1, 2, and 3 to have the largest impact on improving
environmental health practices and reducing illnesses associated with foodborne pathogens.
 The projects proposed in this application use innovative methods utilizing practice-based
research to evaluate the effectiveness of novel policies and regulations such as the Rhode
Island Sick Time Law and the regulation that requires a Certified Food Safety Manager at all
times. In addition, best practices associated with environmental assessments, such as
environmental sampling, will be evaluated and incorporated into a training manual that can be
adopted by other State and Local health departments. These projects aim to improve
environmental health practices and reduce illness at a national level.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10438151
- **Project number:** 5U01EH001368-03
- **Recipient organization:** RHODE ISLAND STATE DEPT OF HEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Brendalee Viveiros
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $192,587
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-30 → 2025-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10438151

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10438151, Rhode Island EHS-Net Practice Based Research to Improve Food Safety (5U01EH001368-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10438151. Licensed CC0.

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