What is occupational health?

Handling hot iron sticks can be very dangerous. ^{© G. Tjalvin}

What is occupational health?

Actually, occupational health as a discipline includes even more; it is not only the issue of avoiding and reducing serious injuries and diseases but also to work to campaign for improving the general well-being of workers in a workplace.

There are several definitions of occupational health, but the one most commonly used is this one, from WHO and the International Labour Organization (ILO):

A definiton of occupational health is:
The promotion and maintenance
of the highest degree of physical
mental and social well-being of
workers in all occupations.

The size of the problem

More than 2 million people die
from work-related diseases every year

321 million accidents occur due
to workplace hazards annually

Every 15 seconds, a worker dies from
a work-related accident or disease

Every 15 seconds, 153 workers have
a work-related accident

Worldwide, occupational injuries and diseases continue to be the leading cause of work-related deaths. The situation is unacceptable.

Death rates among workers

The inadequate prevention of occupational diseases has profound negative effects not only on workers and their families but also on society at large due to the tremendous costs that it generates; particularly, in terms of loss of productivity and burdening of social security systems.

In many developing countries, death rates among workers are higher than in industrialized countries, and work-related injuries and diseases are largely un-documented. Global competition, an expanding labour market and rapid changes in all aspects of work create an increasing need for labour protection, especially in developing countries.

While globally much is known about occupational health, implementation measures are lacking in many poor countries, probably due to a lack of competence and political will.