Trends in Occupational Health and Safety Policy in Italy

Experience with and reflections on the interaction among the workplace, the society, and various institutions in the area of occupational health have played an important role in the general political debate in Italy since the 1960s. This paper describes the emergence of the workers' model of investigation into health hazards, an element unique to the Italian experience, and analyzes its impact on the organization of work, government policies, health institutions, and scientific research.