A holistic approach to occupational safety and health
NIOSH wants you to think about occupational exposure in a different way. Several experts discussed the “under the radar” topic on Tuesday in three parts: the exposome, cumulative risk assessment and total worker health. Each of these initiatives contributes in complementary ways to the improvement of worker health and wellbeing.
Throughout much of its history, worker safety and health has been addressed primarily by identifying risk factors for injury and illness one at a time in the workplace. This approach has helped produce a consistent trend in the reduction of workplace injuries and illnesses. However, the approach may be limited in its ability to continue producing reductions, and the narrow focus addressing risk factors one at a time may limit the ability to improve workers' overall wellbeing. New more holistic approaches may provide a more effective path forward. NIOSH has begun exploring holistic approaches to improving workers’ health.