Key OSH areas the focus of IOSH research call

IOSH is inviting proposals for timely and original research that influences policy and practice in the field of occupational safety, health and wellbeing.

It is seeking proposals in four areas, which are:

• Firefighters’ exposure to toxic chemicals: barriers and facilitators to adopting decontamination practices
• Occupational health training for occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals: context, challenges, and opportunities
• OSH and climate change: the impact of psychosocial factors in the agricultural sector
• The robustness of national OSH statistics in the United Kingdom.

Firefighters’ exposure to toxic chemicals

The barriers and facilitators to adopting decontamination practices.

With firefighters often exposed to various toxic agents through doing their duties, and research highlighting potential gaps in the cleaning and decontamination of their kit and personal protective equipment, IOSH is looking to understand more about this.

It is seeking research which explores and compares the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of effective decontamination protocols and practices for firefighters in the United Kingdom. As part of this, it would welcome comparisons with developed economies such as Canada, USA and Sweden.

Occupational health training for OSH professionals

Context, challenges, and opportunities.

Despite OSH professionals playing a key role in supporting the health and work ability of employees, often their role is limited to a focus on safety matters. This part of the call is seeking to explore the aspects of existing occupational health training for OSH professionals in countries with sophisticated and mature regulatory frameworks.

This research should support the evaluation of a number of areas, including the knowledge of the health impacts of occupational hazards, the competencies required to prevent work-related diseases and ill health, and the role, type and content of education and training programmes designed to equip OSH practitioners with the skills and knowledge to prevent and address occupational disease.

OSH and climate change

The impact of psychosocial factors in the agricultural sector.

Climate change is increasingly becoming a factor that OSH professionals have to consider in their work. As well as the clear safety factors that it causes, there are many psychosocial risks that it brings about.

This is why IOSH has included this in its list of research topics. There are two aspects to this call.

1. To explore the impact of climate change on the mental health of agricultural workers in Africa and/or Asia and identify ways that these impacts can be mitigated to support good practice.
2. To evaluate the work-related psychosocial impact of climate change on agricultural workers, contrasting those in low- and medium- income countries (that is: those in Africa and/or Asia) with those in high income countries, such as in Europe.

The robustness of national OSH statistics in the United Kingdom

National statistics provide key insights into many different parts of a country’s economy and society. Among them, OSH statistics are crucial when it comes to understanding trends in this area. It is crucial, therefore, that the data provided is accurate and a true reflection of the situation.

IOSH is looking for research which explores three aspects of the UK’s OSH reporting structures and statistics. 

1. The robustness and reliability of current reporting structures, available data sources, data collection mechanisms, and the categorisation for work-related disease, injury and ill-health to reflect the modern workplace. 
2. Identification of the strengths and weaknesses within the current recognised data sources at both national and local level.
3. An analysis of national policy impacts on the reliability of national OSH statistics and OSH enforcement.