[Participation to improve working conditions: evidence and experience]

Abstract

Participation of stakeholders is a key requirement for the success of public health programmes. Working and employment conditions are major determinants for people's health and wellbeing, and workplaces are ideal environments to implement programmes with a very direct level of participation. In Spain, the main regulatory framework for occupational health and safety, Law 31/1995, establishes the principles of "efficiency, coordination and participation" as a necessary basis for workers' health protection. This same Law establishes the role of the health and safety workers' representative, responsible for occupational risk prevention, and the occupational health and safety committee, a body with equal representation and the same objectives at the heart of the company. Among recent experiences of participation in occupational health, participatory ergonomics programmes have stood out. The aim of these programmes is to improve working conditions with a view to reducing musculoskeletal disorders, which is a very common and highly prevalent work-related injury in Spain. This study describes the characteristics and results of some experiences of participatory ergonomics carried out recently in Spain, from which relevant learning can be extrapolated about processes, facilitators and barriers in order to extend such programmes to other areas of occupational and public health.

Keywords: Ergonomía participativa; Musculoskeletal disorders; Occupational health; Participación; Participation; Participatory ergonomics; Salud laboral; Trastornos musculoesqueléticos.