Policy / impact 1
Tuesday 7 October 2025, 16.00 – 17.00 Glow
Chairs: Paul Demers, Hannah Nørtoft Frankel
Effective delivery of occupational safety and health services: Current situation and challenges from a global perspective
Miguel Muñoz-Harrison (presenter)
Stavroula Leka , Maha Siddiqui, Claire Hardy, Kay Greasley
Abstract
Objective: Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) services play an important role in supporting employers, workers and their representatives in protecting and promoting safe and healthy workplaces. However, it is estimated that 75% of the global workforce lacks access to these services. Furthermore, significant disparities exist across high-, middle-, and low-income economies. Where these services are available, they differ in terms of scope, content, and quality. Therefore, this research aims to examine how the overarching policy context, national infrastructure and provisions influence the delivery of OSH services worldwide. Materials and Methods: Thirty case studies from high-, middle-, and low-income countries were developed through a literature review and analysed using framework analysis. The countries selected aimed to ensure representation in terms of economic development, region, coverage of OSH services, percentage of workers employed in the informal sector and ratification of ILO Conventions C155, C161 and C187. Results: Findings illustrate the current situation of national OSH systems and the delivery of OSH services worldwide. Despite only four countries having ratified ILO Conventions C155, C161, and C187, this study identified that national initiatives regarding OSH have been adopted in all of the case studies reviewed. However, differences revolve around the structure of regulations and the integration between OSH services and overarching healthcare and welfare systems. Similarly, OSH services vary across countries according to whether occupational health and occupational safety are integrated, delivery models, and the professionals involved. Conclusion: The current study provides insights into the role of a country’s economic status in delivering OSH services. Additionally, all the countries analysed face the challenge of transitioning to a holistic approach that facilitates addressing emerging occupational risks. Funding and Acknowledgements: This research is funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and conducted in collaboration with the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH).
Facilitators and barriers to effective collaboration between occupational hygienists and occupational physicians
Julia van Beekum (presenter)
Gilbert W.M. Wijntjens, Jolanda Willems, Wendy Tijssen-Caan, Karin I. Proper, Frederieke G. Schaafsma
Abstract
Objective: Collaboration between occupational hygienists (OHs) and occupational physicians (OPs) is often ineffective or even absent in companies that handle hazardous substances. Consequently, OPs are inadequately informed about the potential early health effects that workers are faced with due to exposure to hazardous substances. We aimed to study the facilitators and barriers for effective collaboration between OHs and OPs translating risks of occupational exposure to hazardous substances into health effects. Materials and methods: Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect insights from occupational health professionals (9 OHs, 8 OPs) on their experiences with translating chemical exposure risks into health effects, and vice versa. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data were analysed using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model. Results: The main barriers in the domain of capability were insufficient knowledge of the OPs regarding hazardous substances and insufficient understanding of each other’s professions and associated expertise. OPs often reported having limited training and missing practical experience with hazardous substances. In addition, the opportunity to engage in preventive measures is often hindered by the private funding of occupational health services and lack of organisational support, resulting in a focus of OPs on sick leave and re-integration. Additional barriers related to opportunity include the complex legislation, inadequate provision of information and not being placed in the same department/company. As to the facilitating factors, occupational professionals with a higher sense of self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation are often more proactive in seeking collaboration and promoting preventative measures. Conclusion: The outcomes of the interviews will serve as the foundation for developing a new tool tailored to the needs of occupational professionals. We anticipate that this new tool will assist occupational professionals in translating chemical exposure risks into health effects, contributing to the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases while also encouraging collaboration.
The food environment at work: Schedule inflexibility
Laura Punnett (presenter)
Rebecca J. Gore, Neha Sahasrabudhe, Suzanne Nobrega
Abstract
Objective: The workplace food environment is understudied, especially the effect of schedule conditions such as irregular meal breaks and time pressure during the shift on dietary behaviors. We examined the ability of U.S. nursing home workers to manage the timing of their food intake, in relation to temporal job features (e.g., total work hours, shift assignment), and its association with specific eating behaviors. Material and Methods: A total of 2,642 workers responded to a self-administered survey, including questions about meal break frequency and duration during the work shift. Three items (enough time to eat; able to eat when desired; and knowing in advance when that would be) were summed to form a ‘meal schedule inflexibility’ index. Cross-sectional associations of the index with dietary behaviors were assessed with multivariable regression. Results: Between 40% and 50% of survey respondents answered “sometimes” or less often to each meal schedule item. The index was somewhat correlated (but not redundant) with standard indicators of job demands and decision latitude. The index was higher (i.e., less time to eat, less choice about when) among those working longer shifts and evening or night shifts. Meal inflexibility was weakly associated with lower consumption of fruit and vegetables, an important indicator of healthy diet. Conclusion: Time constraints on eating, measured with this simple index, appear very common in healthcare. Future investigations might assess whether other work schedule elements should be added to the index; the prevalence of meal schedule inflexibility in other sectors; whether or not it impacts specific eating behaviors; and whether it influences the effectiveness of workplace dietary interventions. Funded by NIOSH grant # U19-OH008857.
Using Job Exposure Matrices to estimate an individual’s exposure for compensation?
Hans Kromhout (presenter)
Dick Heederik
Abstract
Introduction Job exposure matrices are being used to assign (quantitative levels of) exposure to individuals based on their job history. In human observational studies a group-based approach in which every individual with a similar job will be assigned similar exposure will not bias the exposure-response association but will result in loss of precision. However, since job exposure matrices do not consider between-worker differences in average exposure some workers’ cumulative exposures will be underestimated. This may affect their chances for compensation when a minimal (cumulative) exposure threshold is applied. Methods We analysed more than 80.000 repeated exposure measurements from a variety of industries and consequently combined variance components of location and worker (within a location within a job) to estimate the bandwidth of individual average exposures in a job. This allowed estimation of an upper average exposure for workers within a job (across locations/companies). Results The bandwidth factor appeared to be larger for exposures to particulates than for gases. It was also larger for biological agents. For exposure to particulate matter the bandwidth factor varied slightly between industries (84BWfactor 1-4) with a median of 2.5. Conclusion By applying a default upper (one standard deviation) bandwidth factor to an average exposure estimate resulting from a job-exposure matrix, the Dutch occupational disease compensation scheme has chosen for an approach that recognizes between-worker differences in exposure. This approach in addition to considering uncertainty in exposure-response associations addresses another important factor of uncertainty in ascertaining occupational disease based on the ‘presumably plausible’ principle.