In 2007, PICNet worked in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH), and the University of British Columbia (UBC) to coordinate and host a one-day workshop called "Occupational Health Services for Health Care Workers in Rural/Remote Areas and Developing Countries." 

The workshop was part of the ICOH Conference on Health Care Worker Health/2007 State-of-the-Art Confernece (SOTAC) held from the 26th to the 28th of October, 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  For this event, ICOH and ACOEM joined together to share research and understanding on protecting the health of health care workers.

In total, over forty participants representing countries such as Romania, South Africa, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, China, Vietnam, Belgium, Finland, Columbia, Brazil, Canada and the USA came together for this unique endeavour.  While this publication documents the workshop discourse, its larger purpose is to move beyond a record of proceedings.  After the workshop, participants continued to develop and expand the ideas discussed at the workshop.  Particpants and other contributors wrote the focus boxes located through the document to share examples of practical and sustainable ways of providing occupational health services for health care workers in demanding and diverse settings.  Their goal was to enable occupational health professionals to share knowledge, expand understanding, and enhance occupational health services for health care workers around the world.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health agreed to publish this document, and it is now available in PDF as well.  PICNet was thrilled to be a part of such an exciting and innovative workshop.  Our thanks to everyone who made it possible.

"Protecting the Health of Health Care Workers: A Global Perspective" February 2007