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.

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IntroductionThe International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) is an international professional organisation dedicated to scientific progress, knowledge, and development of occupational health and safety. Founded in 1906 in Milan, Italy, ICOH currently has over 2000 members in 96 countries. The 37 Scientific Committees provide a forum for members and associated experts to meet in order to promote, share and discuss progress relating to the OSH topics. The aim of this study is to develop a survey on ICOH contribution to OSH at national and international level.MethodsThe survey project will consist of the following phases: first draft of the questionnaire shared with ICOH Officers, members of the Task Group on Membership and National Secretaries; second draft based on the suggestions and inputs received; pilot test; questionnaire administration; data elaboration and analysis; dissemination of results.The questionnaire will be administered to ICOH members in good standing through the dedicated web-based platform SurveyMonkey. The language selected for the questionnaire will be English.The questionnaire will be structured along different sections investigating ICOH contribution to OSH at national and international level, activities carried out by Scientific Committees and National Secretaries, results visibility and dissemination at International Congresses, effectiveness of ICOH communication tools. Data will be analysed using SPSS Statistics V.22.Results and ConclusionPreliminary results will be presented at ICOH 2018 Congress.This study will be, for the first time in ICOH history, addressed to the whole active membership.It might become the starting point for a systematic monitoring survey on needs and perceptions of members with respect to ICOH commitment in the OSH sector. The outputs will also contribute to the improvement of ICOH scientific activities and identification of the new OSH priorities at national and international level.

Introduction Inail has for a long time been active in the recovery, valorization and sharing of the heritage of knowledge relating to health and safety at work, both at a national and international level. Among the activities of the triennial research plan, it is also included the creation of a repository of the ICOH Congress proceedings, starting from its foundation to the present time, with the aim of presenting the available documentation in an organised and interrelated system. Methods The series of ICOH international congresses begins in Milan in 1906, in connexion with the foundation of ICOH. To date, 31 international congress have been held. On the occasion of the centenary Congress in 2006, a first catalogue and digitalization of the proceedings was created, with an index by author, title keywords, etc., by the Clinica del Lavoro of Milan, under the direction of P.A. Bertazzi. The aim of the project is to complete the digital version of the single proceedings for the realisation of a web edition of the complete corpus of the ICOH Congresses, along with the development of organised metadata useful for semantic research.Result The result will be the realisation of a critical review in order to level out all the previous experiences of digitalization of the proceedings of the ICOH Congresses, including the various forms of indexing now existing, along with the creation of a thesaurus of keywords for occupational medicine, in digital format and with links to the entries.Research output will include the creation of a structured Repository containing a series of shared metadata in open access and with tools for semantic research. Discussion The Repository will be released at the ICOH 2018 Congress and will constitute an important research tool not only for the history of prevention and health and safety at workplaces, but also for the current research activities in OHS.