Psychosocial Risk Prevention in a Global Occupational Health Perspective. A Descriptive Analysis

Francesco Chirico, Tarja Heponiemi, Milena Pavlova, Salvatore Zaffina and Nicola Magnavita
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Francesco Chirico: Health Service Department, State Police, Ministry of Interior, Milan 20162, Italy
Tarja Heponiemi: Social and Health Systems Research Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki FI-00271, Finland
Salvatore Zaffina: Occupational Health Unit, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, Rome 00165, Italy
Nicola Magnavita: Post-graduate School of Occupational Medicine, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome 00168, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 14, 1-14

Abstract: This study aimed to find out which countries around the world require psychosocial hazards and workplace violence to be assessed by employers through a mandatory occupational risk assessment process and to compare the type of legislation between countries. We systematically searched the International Labour Office (ILO) “LEGOSH” database for documents published during the period between December 2017 and February 2018. The search included 132 countries, of which 23 were considered as developed and 109 as developing according to the United Nations. Our review showed that most countries (85, i.e., 64%) have not included mandatory psychosocial risk assessment and prevention in their national occupational safety and health legislation. Moreover, we found differences between developed and developing countries, showing that developed countries more frequently have legislative measures. Within developed countries, we also found differences between countries following the Scandinavian model of workplace health and safety culture and other countries. Moreover, in many countries, workplace violence was prohibited only if it involves an offence to moral or religious customs. In conclusion, the marked difference in psychosocial hazards and workplace violence regulations among countries leads to unequal levels of workers’ protection, with adverse effects on global health.

Keywords: global health; health inequalities; legislation; mental health; psychosocial hazard; public health policy; workplace violence; job strain; psychosocial hazard; occupational health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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