Work-related stress only recently entered the domain of Occupational Medicine, having previously been a field of action of epidemiologists and psychologists. On this emerging problem, the Italian Scientific Society of Occupational Medicine (SIMLII) has in 2006 produced a Consensus Document covering pathogenic, clinical and operational aspects. The central item in the Occupational Medicine approach is the risk assessment, this last being the corner stone of primary and secondary prevention interventions. SIMLII favours the “objective” approach to risk evaluation, as opposed to the “subjective” one, due to the greater reliability and operational usefulness of the former. Due to the complexity of the evaluation procedure, the Italian Law-giver has recently anticipated an official approach. In default of validated methods, several recent proposals have been advanced by public an private institutions. Such proposals are mainly following the “objective” pathway suggested by SIMLII, as they suggest the use of check-lists filled in by “experts” or the implementation of “focus groups”. Field experiences are leading to reliable practical models. One aspect which has been focused on by SIMLII, and should not be overlooked, is one major effect of risk evaluation, namely ”secondary prevention” (clinical surveillance by occupational physicians) with the ensuing points related to fitness to work and legal standpoints.
Work-Related Stress: The SIMLII Position
ROMANO, Canzio
2009-01-01
Abstract
Work-related stress only recently entered the domain of Occupational Medicine, having previously been a field of action of epidemiologists and psychologists. On this emerging problem, the Italian Scientific Society of Occupational Medicine (SIMLII) has in 2006 produced a Consensus Document covering pathogenic, clinical and operational aspects. The central item in the Occupational Medicine approach is the risk assessment, this last being the corner stone of primary and secondary prevention interventions. SIMLII favours the “objective” approach to risk evaluation, as opposed to the “subjective” one, due to the greater reliability and operational usefulness of the former. Due to the complexity of the evaluation procedure, the Italian Law-giver has recently anticipated an official approach. In default of validated methods, several recent proposals have been advanced by public an private institutions. Such proposals are mainly following the “objective” pathway suggested by SIMLII, as they suggest the use of check-lists filled in by “experts” or the implementation of “focus groups”. Field experiences are leading to reliable practical models. One aspect which has been focused on by SIMLII, and should not be overlooked, is one major effect of risk evaluation, namely ”secondary prevention” (clinical surveillance by occupational physicians) with the ensuing points related to fitness to work and legal standpoints.
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