Contribution of ICOH to Address the Different OSH Needs among Countries: Results of a Survey

The aim of this study is to map the coverage of occupational safety and health (OSH) rules and provisions and their enforcement at a country level worldwide. Members’ participation in the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) activities was also investigated. We used a questionnaire-based survey to collect data. An online questionnaire was administered from February 14 to March 18, 2018 to all ICOH members for the triennium 2015 to 2017 (n = 1929). We received 384 completed questionnaires from 79 countries, with a 20% response rate. To synthesize information about the coverage of OSH rules and provisions and their level of enforcement, a synthetic coverage index was calculated and combined with country, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and the human development index (HDI). We used multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to analyze the members’ participation in ICOH activities. More than 90.0% of the sample declared that in their own country there is a set of rules and provisions regulating OSH in the workplace, and training procedures and tools to improve workers’ awareness. However, these rules and training procedures are mainly “partially” enforced and utilized (39.0% and 45.4%). There was no statistically significant association between country and GDP per capita and the synthetic coverage index, whilst controlling for HDI. The level of engagement in ICOH activities is higher in senior members (aged 65 years or older), coming from high-income countries, having held a position within ICOH, with a higher level of education and a researcher position. An integrated and multidisciplinary approach, which includes research, education and training, is needed to address OSH issues and their impact both at global and country level

The future of scientific conferences in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Critical analysis and future perspectives

The global spread of COVID-19 pandemic forced the scientific community to identify new ways of exchanging and transferring the scientific knowledge, also considering that the measures taken to combat the pandemic, such as travel restrictions, closed borders and gathering bans, led to cancellations of many conferences, meetings and workshops. The enhancement of the existing digital platforms and the development of new systems to share scientific knowledge has allowed the scientific community to “meet” again in new virtual environments (e.g., Zoom, Cisco WebEx, Live Stream, Demio, GoToWebinar Seminar, Google Hangouts, Skype, Microsoft Teams, etc.), providing an unprecedented opportunity to reform methods of organizing academic conferences in all disciplines.Starting from the review of the existing literature, this study aimed at investigating the impact of the spreading of virtual conferences on the field of research. The SWOT analysis was used to identify strengths and weaknesses of the scientific conferences organized in the new format, as well as opportunities and threats created by the socio-economic and political context in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on scientific knowledge: the future perspective of virtual Conferences

The measures taken to combat the pandemic, such as travel restrictions, closed borders and gathering bans, led to cancellations of many conferences, meetings and workshops, forcing the scientific community to identify new ways of disseminating scientific knowledge. This resulted in the transition from traditional face-to-face meetings, where practitioners and academics meet to exchange knowledge, network and develop collaborations, to the development of new events in digital formats. This study aimed at investigating the impact of the spreading of virtual conferences on the field of research

Il progetto dell’ICoH Repository e il contributo della Medicina del Lavoro italiana allo sviluppo della tutela della salute dei lavoratori

Il presente studio intende promuovere l'Icoh Heritage Repository, un archivio digitale realizzato per la raccolta e sistematizzazione dei contributi scientifici in Medicina del Lavoro presentati in occasione dei 32 Congressi internazionali ICOH dal 1906 al 2018. Tali atti congressuali sono stati organizzati e digitalizzati in maniera sistematizzata, aggiornata e di facile accessibilità all'interno di un Repository accessibile in open access dal sito dell'ICOH.. Nella fase di sperimentazione dell’efficacia ed efficienza del Repository, si è scelto di presentare lo studio di tre medici del lavoro che con i loro contributi scientifici, rispettivamente in tema di lotta all’anchilostomiasi (Volante, 1906), solfocarbonismo (Quarelli, 1928) e cancerogenicità del cloruro di vinile monomero (Viola, 1969) hanno dato un apporto fondamentale allo sviluppo della Medicina del Lavoro e all’evoluzione della normativa in tema di salute e sicurezza sul lavoro

Making the Difference in Occupational Health: Three Original and Significant Cases Presented at ICOH Congresses in the 20th Century

Background: The aim of this study is to illustrate the historical role of the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) Congresses as an arena where national and international occupational medicine can dialogue and as the first example of scientific transferability of the research and prevention results that have had such an impact on global public health. Methods: We used the ICOH Heritage Repository, in which ICOH Congress proceedings (from the first Congress in Milan in1906 to the last Congress, held in Dublin in 2018), are organised in an orderly way, updated and easily accessible according to open access logic. Results: We describe studies by three physicians who submitted significant scientific work to ICOH congresses, one on the battle against ancylostomiasis (Volante, 1906), the second (Quarelli, 1928) on carbon disulphide poisoning, and the third (Viola, 1969) on the carcinogenicity of vinyl chloride monomer. Priority is given to Italian cases, on account of the authors' obvious familiarity with the issues. Conclusion: The visibility offered in ICOH conferences and their published proceedings has boosted the international spread of their findings, contributing to the scientific transferability of the research results and influencing the development of policies and prevention interventions that have had a great impact on global public health