Education and Training: Key Factors in Global Occupational and Environmental Health

Introduction: Education and training in Occupational and Environmental Health (OEH) play an important role in building global capacity and contribute to safer working conditions. The shortage of occupational health professionals, the lack of knowledge and a high number of occupational accidents and diseases stress the demand for providing further education and training in OEH. This need is especially urgent in low and middle-income countries. Three international courses on OEH provide valuable insights on how to develop successful trainings in the field and how to contribute to the creation of healthy and safe workplaces. Methodology and Results: The courses "Global Occupational and Environmental Determinants of Diseases: a multidisciplinary and multicultural approach for prevention" (University of Brescia, Italy), "Advanced International Training Course in OEH" (Chulabhorn Research Institute, Bangkok, Thailand) and "Teaching interventions crossing borders" (Ludwig-Maximillians-Universitat, Munich, Germany) offer a unique networking opportunity for health professionals from low-, middle- and high-income countries. Three main characteristics of learning were identified as successful for adult learning in OEH: Interdisciplinary learning allows exchanging skills and knowledge and therefore closes gaps between the several disciplines within OEH. Experiential learning enables participants to reflect on their personal experiences, e.g. through workplace visits. Finally, active learning empowers the learner to take the leading role in the learning process using e.g. problem- or project-based learning approaches. Conclusion: Training and education in OEH should become a higher priority by including it in the standard public health and medical curricula. For this, train the trainer approaches are essential in many countries. Any OEH training should follow the interdisciplinary, experiential and interactive learning approach and should be accessible to participants from all regions

Impact of NIOSH education and research centers of workplace practice

Multiple federal efforts to improve occupational safety and health (OSH) in the United States were implemented over the course of the twentieth century. The development of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to implement safety and health standards was an initial step to improve workplace safety and health nationwide. An additional effort was the creation of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). That agency, in turn, created Education and Research Centers (ERCs) to provide continuing education and graduate level training in occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, occupational safety, and industrial hygiene. Many training programs were created by both the ERCs and other agencies, causing the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2000 to call for an evaluation of all worker training programs to determine whether they are effective. Such an evaluation is important because despite the figures showing that workplace deaths and injuries have decreased, we really do not know whether it is the training programs or other factors that have the desired effect of improving worker safety. This thesis addressed that issue. Using a multimodal effort for obtaining data, the research evaluated how the ERCs have impacted the workforce. The research utilized qualitative methods, including key informant interviews, to indicate the impact the ERCs have had on workplace safety and health. Additionally, the research conducted a quantitative survey of former ERC students to identify how effective the ERC training programs were in providing information so they can make appropriate health and safety decisions in their workplace practices. This research shows that the ERCs provided training that has made a positive impact on worker health and safety. Key informants identified safety and health training as effective in producing changes in the workplace. Furthermore, the surveys identified trainees as having increased their knowledge and learned new skills. Trainees identified changes needed in their workplace, and the training has provided them with some of the knowledge and skills to make those changes.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Mitchel A. Rose