Occupational Medicine
Objectives
VU University Medical Centre has started in 2004 with the policy to create academic workplaces in occupational health care and prevention. In line with this policy and the EMGO missions the Department of Public and Occupational Health started to collaborate closely in three academic workplaces with Occupational Health Services and with other institutions where work is carried out at an academic level. For this purpose the Department has signed to date several contracts for academic workplaces.
Collaborations
VU University Medical Center signed on 1-7-05 a contract for an academic workplace with the Occupational Health and Safety Services (OHS) of VU/VU University Medical Center. A similar contract with KLM Health Services was signed in 2007.
With regard to the new research topic of Academic workplace Transmural occupational care the Department of Public and Occupational Health collaborates with the Departments of Orthopedics/Neurosurgery, Dermatology, Psychiatry/ GGZ BuitenAmstel of VUmc. Transmural occupational care is innovative multidisciplinary care by a team with (at least) a medical specialist and occupation physician. In the latter project there is a close collaboration with UMC Groningen en UMC Radboud Nijmegen.
Results
Through the infrastructure of the academic workplace for occupational health care and prevention, various prevention and treatment trials have been conducted in the past. With regard to the academic workplace with the Occupational Health and Safety Services (OHS) of VU/VU University Medical Center, 8 PhD-projects (including 6 ongoing projects) and 1 postdoc project are conducted. Since 1-7-2005 external funding is received (mainly derived from ZonMw) to conduct these PhD projects. The contribution of OH professionals in these projects is matched with an appointment of 0.4 FTE of a senior researcher in the academic workplace by the Department of OH. Furthermore, KLM Health Services and the department /VUmc are currently collaborating in 7 PhD-projects in the field of occupational health and prevention. Moreover, the KLM Health Services contribute to the academic workplace by installing and continuing a research chair ‘working conditions’, for a part-time professor employed at KLM Health Services (0.2 FTE).
In addition, the Netherlands Organisation of Health Research and Development (ZonMw) awarded the coordinator of academic workplaces in Occupational Health with a Clinical Fellowship 2005-2010. The aim of this personal grant is to develop a new research line for Transmural occupational medicine. Since 2005 a funding has been received for multicenter RCTs evaluating the cost effectiveness of transmural occupational care for workers with chronic low back pain, a major depression and chronic hand eczema.
Contact information
J.R. Anema, email: h.anema@vumc.nl
A.J. van der Beek: a.vanderbeek@vumc.nl