Occupational health care for the 21st century: From health at work to workers' health

A survey of relevant national and international legislation and recommendations on occupational health (OH) organization revealed two fundamental approaches to OR 1) the historically older labor approach, essentially seeing OH care as an obligation of the employer derived from the labor contract, and 2) an emerging health approach, including all workers and all aspects of health, A draft decree on OH in Flanders seeks to integrate the two approaches. It extends the scope of OH to all workers (not only employees), introduces holistic health surveillance, rejects the incapacity concept, provides for strong integration of health and workplace surveillance, and stresses ethics. Workers' satisfaction is seen as the first criterion in quality control. Systematic data collection and analysis, and when necessary, scientific research are recommended. Additional resources for OH services should be provided by stakeholders other than employers.