Education in occupational health psychology: Where have we been, where are we now and where are we going?

At the first full conference of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (Lund, 1999), the decision was ratified to organise activities around three fora. These together represented the pillars on which the European Academy had been founded that same year: education, research and professional practice. Each forum was convened by a chair person and a small group of full members; it was agreed that a forum meeting would take place at each full conference and working groups would be established to move developments forward between conferences. The forum system has proven an effective means by which to channel the energies of individual members, and the institutions that they represent, towards advancements in all three areas of activity in occupational health psychology (OHP) in Europe. During the meeting of the education forum at the third full European Academy conference (Barcelona, 2001), the proposal was made for the establishment of a working party that would be tasked with the production of a strategy document on The Promotion of Education in Occupational Health Psychology in Europe. The proposal was ratified at the subsequent annual business meeting held during the same conference. The draft outline of the strategy document was published for consultation in the European Academy’s e-newsletter (Vol. 3.1, 2002) and the final document presented to the meeting of the education forum at the fourth full conference (Vienna, 2002). The strategy document constituted a seminal piece of literature in so far as it provided a foundation and structure capable of guiding pan-European developments in education in OHP – developments that would ensure the sustained growth of the discipline and assure it of a long-standing embedded place in both the scholarly and professional domains. To these ends, the strategy document presented six objectives as important for the sustained expansion and the promotion of education in the discipline in Europe. Namely, the development of: [1] A core syllabus for education in occupational health psychology [2] A mechanism for identifying, recognising and listing undergraduate and postgraduate modules and courses (programmes) in occupational health psychology [3] Structures to support the extension of the current provision of education in occupational health psychology [4] Ways of enhancing convergence of the current provision of education in occupational health psychology [5] Ways of encouraging regional cooperation between education providers across the regions of Europe [6] Ways of ensuring consistency with North American developments in education and promoting world wide co-operation in education Five years has elapsed since the presentation of these laudable objectives to the meeting of the education forum in Vienna in December 2002. In that time OHP has undergone considerable growth, particularly in Europe and North America. Expansion has been reflected in the evolution of existing, and emergence of new, representative bodies for the discipline on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. As such, it might be considered timely to pause to reflect on what has been achieved in respect of each of the objectives set out in the strategy document. The current chapter examines progress on the six objectives and considers what remains to be done. This exercise is entered into not merely in order to congratulate achievements in some areas and lament slow progress in others. Rather, on the one hand it serves to highlight areas where real progress has been made with a view to the presentation of these areas as ripe for further capitalisation. On the other hand it serves to direct the attention of stakeholders (all those with a vested interest in OHP) to those key parts of the jigsaw puzzle that is the development of a self-sustaining pan-European education framework which remain to be satisfactorily addressed

Education in occupational health psychology: Where have we been, where are we now and where are we going?

At the first full conference of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (Lund, 1999), the decision was ratified to organise activities around three fora. These together represented the pillars on which the European Academy had been founded that same year: education, research and professional practice. Each forum was convened by a chair person and a small group of full members; it was agreed that a forum meeting would take place at each full conference and working groups would be established to move developments forward between conferences. The forum system has proven an effective means by which to channel the energies of individual members, and the institutions that they represent, towards advancements in all three areas of activity in occupational health psychology (OHP) in Europe. During the meeting of the education forum at the third full European Academy conference (Barcelona, 2001), the proposal was made for the establishment of a working party that would be tasked with the production of a strategy document on The Promotion of Education in Occupational Health Psychology in Europe. The proposal was ratified at the subsequent annual business meeting held during the same conference. The draft outline of the strategy document was published for consultation in the European Academy’s e-newsletter (Vol. 3.1, 2002) and the final document presented to the meeting of the education forum at the fourth full conference (Vienna, 2002). The strategy document constituted a seminal piece of literature in so far as it provided a foundation and structure capable of guiding pan-European developments in education in OHP – developments that would ensure the sustained growth of the discipline and assure it of a long-standing embedded place in both the scholarly and professional domains. To these ends, the strategy document presented six objectives as important for the sustained expansion and the promotion of education in the discipline in Europe. Namely, the development of: [1] A core syllabus for education in occupational health psychology [2] A mechanism for identifying, recognising and listing undergraduate and postgraduate modules and courses (programmes) in occupational health psychology [3] Structures to support the extension of the current provision of education in occupational health psychology [4] Ways of enhancing convergence of the current provision of education in occupational health psychology [5] Ways of encouraging regional cooperation between education providers across the regions of Europe [6] Ways of ensuring consistency with North American developments in education and promoting world wide co-operation in education Five years has elapsed since the presentation of these laudable objectives to the meeting of the education forum in Vienna in December 2002. In that time OHP has undergone considerable growth, particularly in Europe and North America. Expansion has been reflected in the evolution of existing, and emergence of new, representative bodies for the discipline on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. As such, it might be considered timely to pause to reflect on what has been achieved in respect of each of the objectives set out in the strategy document. The current chapter examines progress on the six objectives and considers what remains to be done. This exercise is entered into not merely in order to congratulate achievements in some areas and lament slow progress in others. Rather, on the one hand it serves to highlight areas where real progress has been made with a view to the presentation of these areas as ripe for further capitalisation. On the other hand it serves to direct the attention of stakeholders (all those with a vested interest in OHP) to those key parts of the jigsaw puzzle that is the development of a self-sustaining pan-European education framework which remain to be satisfactorily addressed

Education and Training in Occupational Health Psychology: The Case for E-Learning

For the discipline of occupational health psychology (OHP) to continue to evolve and to serve workers effectively it is imperative that education and training provision is available that enables students to acquire knowledge and skills, free of geographical and temporal constraints. This chapter begins with a brief introduction to the historical development of education and training in OHP in Europe. The review culminates with the assertion that higher education institutions are now required to act innovatively in regard to the expansion of provision. One such initiative involves the introduction of e-learning. A case study concerning the implementation of a Masters degree in OHP by e-learning is presented. On the outcomes of the case study, recommendations are offered for the design and implementation of such courses. The chapter concludes by raising some further questions that need to be addressed for education and training provision in OHP to continue to expand

The Definition of Curriculum Areas in Occupational Health Psychology

Across the international educational landscape, numerous higher education institutions (HEIs) offer postgraduate programmes in occupational health psychology (OHP). These seek to empower the next generation of OHP practitioners with the knowledge and skills necessary to advance the understanding and prevention of workplace illness and injury, improve working life and promote healthy work through the application of psychological principles and practices. Among the OHP curricula operated within these programmes there exists considerable variability in the topics addressed. This is due, inter alia, to the youthfulness of the discipline and the fact that the development of educational provision has been managed at the level of the HEI where it has remained undirected by external forces such as the discipline’s representative bodies. Such variability makes it difficult to discern the key characteristics of a curriculum which is important for programme accreditation purposes, the professional development and regulation of practitioners and, ultimately, the long-term sustainability of the discipline. This chapter has as its focus the imperative for and development of consensus surrounding OHP curriculum areas. It begins by examining the factors that are currently driving curriculum developments and explores some of the barriers to such. It then reviews the limited body of previous research that has attempted to discern key OHP curriculum areas. This provides a foundation upon which to describe a study conducted by the current authors that involved the elicitation of subject matter expert opinion from an international sample of academics involved in OHP-related teaching and research on the question of which topic areas might be considered important for inclusion within an OHP curriculum. The chapter closes by drawing conclusions on steps that could be taken by the discipline’s representative bodies towards the consolidation and accreditation of a core curriculum

Vision zero: Developing proactive leading indicators for safety, health and wellbeing at work

The importance of leading occupational safety and health (OSH) indicators in complementing lagging indicators is an emerging topic for the promotion of a prevention culture in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development process of a set of proactive leading indicators for safety, health and wellbeing (SHW) at work, which was carried out as part of the International Social Security Association’s (ISSA) Vision Zero strategy. Principles of integrated knowledge transfer and exchange between research, policy and practice were followed in both the conception and development phases, and a mixed methods approach was applied across four stages consisting of: a literature review and input from industry; a quantitative evaluation through an online survey; a qualitative evaluation through feedback from organizational representatives and key stakeholders; and a consensus building workshop with the ISSA Steering Committee. A set of fourteen indicators was developed to complement the ISSA Vision Zero strategy, two in relation to each of its seven golden rules for promoting SHW at work. The indicators deal with integrating each aspect of SHW in e.g. visible and competent leadership, procurement, pre-work briefings, evaluating risk management and targeted programmes, learning from unplanned events, innovation and change, work organization, onboarding and refresher training. Results can be presented qualitatively and quantitatively as e.g. ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses, on a Likert or continuum (five–point) scale, or with frequencies and percentages. The indicators are designed for use by both small and large organizations across all sectors, and can be used for benchmarking and as key performance indicators. They are not only intended to better direct and control SHW processes, but also to support the development of a prevention culture. Recommendations are provided on how the indicators can be refined and improved through future research

Australian work health and safety policy for the regulation of psychosocial risks: perspectives from key informants

The regulation of psychosocial hazards and risks, for the protection of psychological health, is a highly debated issue within work health and safety (WHS). Increasing work-related psychological illness and injury, alongside growing academic evidence and community awareness, has fuelled the need to better prevent and regulate psychosocial hazards and risks. Research must clarify challenges and improvements to policy and practice from stakeholder perspectives. We conduct a qualitative interview-based investigation with 25 informed participants on the effectiveness of Australian WHS policies for the psychosocial risk regulation. Participants are active in diverse roles including policy development, program implementation, industry advice, and psychosocial risk inspection. Inductive analysis revealed divergent viewpoints that are categorised into three broad themes: (1) scant specificity in the current regulatory WHS policy framework, (2) compliance complexities, and (3) the role of regulators in action. Tension points also emerged between these themes and sub-themes, including: (a) how psychosocial risks should be addressed in legislation, (b) how to establish compliance, and (c) the role of the regulator in evaluating compliance, and facilitating education and better practice. Future research must continue to disseminate knowledge from WHS informants to guide better practice. Researchers should investigate organisational barriers that hinder WHS psychosocial risk regulation

Dealing with self-management of chronic illness at work: predictors for self-disclosure

This paper explores the role of self-management of chronic illness at work, as a predictor for self-disclosure. The study reports findings from a survey sent to all staff at a UK university, of which 610 employees reported managing a chronic illness: arthritis, musculoskeletal pain, diabetes, asthma, migraine, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome and depression. The study found that discrete self-management factors predicted different levels of disclosure: partial self-disclosure (employees informing line managers about the presence of a chronic illness) and full self-disclosure (employees informing line managers how that chronic illness affected them at work). For partial disclosure, a greater reported experience of chronic illness by employees was positively associated with self-disclosure. For full-disclosure, employees were more likely to report disclosure to line managers if they had already disclosed to colleagues, and if they perceived receiving support from their line managers in relation to their chronic illness as important. Except for academics who were least likely to disclose, occupational groups did not emerge as significant predictors for either partial or full disclosure. Except for diabetes, chronic illness itself was not a significant predictor or barrier to self-disclosure. Our findings suggest that chronically ill employees adopt a disclosure strategy specifically related to different self-management needs of chronic illness at work

An evaluation of the policy context on psychosocial risks and mental health in the workplace in the European Union: achievements, challenges, and the future

Despite the developments both in hard and soft law policies in the European Union in relation to mental health and psychosocial risks in the workplace, a review of these policies at EU level has not been conducted to identify strengths, weaknesses, and gaps to be addressed in the future. Keeping in mind that the aim should be to engage employers in good practice, ideally such policies should include key definitions and elements of the psychosocial risk management process, covering risk factors, mental health outcomes, risk assessment and preventive actions, or interventions. The current paper aims to fill this gap by reviewing hard and soft law policies on mental health in the workplace and psychosocial risks applicable at EU level and conducting a gap analysis according to a set of dimensions identified in models of good practice in this area. Our review of ninety-four policies in total revealed several gaps, especially in relation to binding in comparison to nonbinding policies. These are discussed in light of the context of policy-making in the EU, and recommendations are offered for future actions in this area

Analytical review of the Australian policy context for work-related psychological health and psychosocial risks

Psychosocial hazards and risks are widely acknowledged to be a serious challenge in WHS. WHS regulatory (hard law) and non-regulatory binding (soft law) policies should strive to engage organisations in psychosocial risk management practices and set a standard for good psychological health in the workplace. Therefore, policies should contain key definitions and aspects of good-practice psychosocial risk management principles. However, at present there has been limited review on policy in this area, despite growing evidence of poor work-related psychological health. Using qualitative methods, the current paper reviews relevant regulatory and non-regulatory policy documents and conducts a gap analysis according to criteria identified in models of good psychosocial risk management practice. The paper extends upon European research by Leka et al. (2015) and examines 39 policies (6 regulatory and 33 non-regulatory) in Australia. We found that most policy documents included psychological health in the objective of the policy. Moreover, non-regulatory policies showed sound coverage of exposure factors and preventive actions and, to a slightly lesser degree, risk assessment. Non-regulatory policy documents scored higher than regulatory policies. Within regulatory policies, there is poor inclusion of risk assessment, preventive action and poor coverage of exposure factors and psychological health outcomes. All policies could be strengthened by including greater coverage of work-related psychological health problems/disorders and associated outcomes. This is a novel review, which contributes to a broader program of research on Australian WHS policy. The next research phase seeks detailed information from WHS experts about the effectiveness and/or implementation of these policies in order to ascertain potential improvements