Participatory Approaches in Occupational Health Research

The paper defines and outlines the context for participatory approaches in occupational health (OH) research. Against the background of trends towards democratisation of working life and worker participation as a means to enhanced productivity, occupational health work has also given a more central role to those experiencing the hazards, the workers, in being informed about and acting upon their work environments. The paper identifies key features of participatory research approaches, exemplifying these in the work done in Europe, Latin America and Africa. The examples demonstrate that PR approaches can and do add new OH knowledge. While they pose some methodological challenges in terms of more traditional research approaches, they also establish new links between scientists and social groups, particularly workers, and can more closely link assessment of OH risk and intervention to reduce risk

Paper prepared for the International Congress on Occupational Health, 1996