engleski

Cooperation of Occupational Physicians and Safety Experts as a Central Point of Good Practice in Health and Safety at Work: Conclusions from the Croatian Seminar

Introduction. Basic aim of the occupational health and safety sector is prevention of work related health disorders in workers, including injuries at work, occupational and work-related diseases, as well as diseases aggravated by work. The cooperation of employers, employees, safety experts and occupational physicians is crucial for everyday implementation of rules and regulations related to health & safety at work. Objective/Methods. Cooperation of occupational physicians and safety experts is presented in this article through a review of good practice cases based on the successful seminar held in Croatia in 2018. Results. Primary prevention of work-related health disorders is always the main focus for health and safety sector, maintaining worker’s health. Secondary prevention focuses on early detection and treatment of excessive exposure or adverse health effects in exposed workers, and tertiary prevention aims to maintain work capacity and employment for a worker with developed health disorder. This article presents good practice cases describing health and safety measures in all three levels of prevention. Conclusions. The importance of close cooperation between occupational physician and safety expert in implementation of health and safety measures is emphasized, as well as the importance of proper health surveillance of workers. Occupational physicians should stay in line with the changes in working populations, processes, conditions and hazards, fulfilling their main task to prevent development of work-related health disorders, and maintain work ability of workers.

health surveillance, prevention, risk assessment, work capacity, work-related health disorders

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