La salute dell’individuo al lavoro: dalla prevenzione alla promozione della salute [The individual health at work: From prevention to health promotion]

The workplace represents the ideal setting for Health Promotion (HP) interventions. The Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) should be a preventive measure that takes into account the effects on health of both lifestyle and occupational risks. The effects of occupational risks are often additive or synergistic with respect to those of non-occupational risks. In the modern and sustainable model of workplaces, health, safety and productivity play an essential role. The objective can be achieved by ensuring the wellbeing of workers through the improvement of the workplace conditions combined with the implementation of WHP initiatives. The Total Worker Health (TWH) of NIOSH integrates occupational risk prevention with WHP and wellness. If the traditional preventive approach is aimed at ensuring safety and health at work, the TWH integrates these aspects with the activities aimed at improving the overall health of employees. Particular attention is given to the assessment of the Return on Investment (ROI) of the WHP interventions. The ROI seems to be influenced by the methodology adopted, as higher methodological quality studies provide evidence of smaller financial returns. The application of socio-ecological concepts to HP initiatives supports individual changes. The PROCEDE-PROCEED model provides a procedure f or planning HP projects and tools to assess the effectiveness of the proposed programs. In this framework it is possible to evaluate the health needs and the quality of life of the community to which it is addressed.