Incorporating the sustainable development concept in occupational health training: a challenge for Latin America

Abstract Objective To discuss the inclusion of the sustainable development concept within the scope of Occupational Health courses and training programs, offered by Latin American academic institutions. Methods This is an exploratory, descriptive study, structured as a mapping of courses and training programs in Occupational Health, offered by academic institutions from Latin America, including a description of the main attributes of each course and the analysis of their curricular matrices, identifying fundamental and complementary competencies, associated or not with the sustainable development concept. Results 108 courses were identified, offered in 14 countries in the region. Most of these courses were offered by private institutions and focused on basic Occupational Health training. The inclusion of the sustainable development concept in their curricular matrices is still limited, as is the regional distribution of the courses, making greater access to Occupational Health training a challenge. Conclusion Occupational Health training in Latin America needs to consider, among other aspects, the centrality of the sustainable development concept, contributing to the development of skills and competencies aligned with the needs of regional programs and policies for the promotion of Occupational Health.