The promotion of sustainable work requires a detailed insight in the complex interplay between all the determinants affecting workers’ health and labour participation. Using the ICF model as a framework, the different determinants of labour participation will be studied and discussed. Determinants include the chemical, physical, biological and psychosocial work environment as well as health, health behaviour and functioning, personal characteristics and social environment. Barriers or limiting factors as well as facilitating factors for labour participation will be distinguished, and studied on different levels, e.g. individual, organizational, national and/or international level.

In module OHS4001 the ICF framework is used for studying the determinants of sustainable work and their complex interplay.

By the end of module OHS4001, students:

Knowledge and understanding

• Know the extended definition of health (WHO); 
• Know the frequency measures incidence and prevalence; 
• Know the definition and elements of sustainable work across the work career and indifferent settings; 
• Know and are able to describe the components of the ICF framework in relation to health and labour participation;        
• Know the (major) determinants of health and labour participation, their interaction and changes across the work career;                        
• Know the association measures (odds ratio, relative risk) to describe the association between determinants and outcomes; 
• Know the principles of evidence based occupational health in general and critical appraisal regarding aetiological research in particular
• Know the principles of the major designs used in aetiological research;
• Know and are able to categorize determinants with respect to disease prevention, health protection and health promotion; 
• Are able to categorize and translate determinants in terms of interventions / preventive measures on the individual, organisational, national and international level;
• Know the legislation on working conditions;               

Applying knowledge and understanding

• Are able to identify evidence based determinants of health and labour participation; 
• Are able to classify and rank determinants according to the ICF framework;      

Formation of a judgement

• Understand the surplus value of the ICF approach in relation to health and labour participation;       
• Critically judge the evidence base on determinants of health and labour participation;        
• Critically evaluate the role of a certain determinant with respect to the type and level of prevention;        
• Are able to critically evaluate on what level a determinant should ideally be tackled (individual, organisational and/or (inter)national level);    

Communication

• Use the ICF framework as an important communication tool;    
• Are able to communicate in a professional way with policymakers, employers and clients in the field of occupational health, by consistently using the ICF approach and tools to enhance communication;       

Learning skills

• Are able to appraise a health and/or labour participation problem in terms of ICF;     
• Are able to build an adequate literature search with respect to determinants of health and labour participation problems;
• Are able to critically appraise the evidence base on determinants of health and labour participation; 
• Are able to investigate the determinants of health and labour participation on different levels.