Occupational Health, Toxicology

Work is a determinant of health. Certain kinds of exposure in the workplace, such as biomechanical, psycho-organizational, chemical, biological or physical stress, may cause professional illnesses or exacerbate certain pathologies. Depression, musculoskeletal disorders, dermatoses, pulmonary diseases, hearing loss, cancers and pregnancy-related illnesses (see reference 1) are among the most common.

This makes occupational health research a vast field including, in particular, occupational epidemiology with the demonstration of the health effects of physico-chemical exposure in the professional environment and the assessment of the scale (for example, occupational cancers, etc.) and the impact of psycho-social risks on workers (burnout, suicide, etc.).

At Unisanté, characterization studies into toxicology and exposure (chemical, biological and physical pollutants) are also undertaken. These take an interest, for example, in workplace exposure to fine particles and their effects on certain health markers.

Finally, the institution also has a team of occupational medicine specialist who carry out research into musculoskeletal disorders, mental health, respiratory health, occupational dermatoses, the return to work or the health system in the workplace, such as maternity protection.

Reference:

Krief P., Kokkinakis I. Les défis de la santé au travail en Suisse. [Health challenges in the workplace in Switzerland] Revue medicale suisse, 2022, 18 (788) pp. 1287-1288.