8288163 Facilitators and barriers to effective collaboration between occupational hygienists and occupational physicians

<h3>Objective</h3> Collaboration between occupational hygienists (OHs) and occupational physicians (OPs) is often ineffective or even absent in companies that handle hazardous substances. Consequently, OPs are inadequately informed about the potential early health effects that workers are faced with due to exposure to hazardous substances. We aimed to study the facilitators and barriers for effective collaboration between OHs and OPs translating risks of occupational exposure to hazardous substances into health effects. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect insights from occupational health professionals (9 OHs, 8 OPs) on their experiences with translating chemical exposure risks into health effects, and vice versa. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data were analysed using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model. <h3>Results</h3> The main barriers in the domain of capability were insufficient knowledge of the OPs regarding hazardous substances and insufficient understanding of each other’s professions and associated expertise. OPs often reported having limited training and missing practical experience with hazardous substances. In addition, the opportunity to engage in preventive measures is often hindered by the private funding of occupational health services and lack of organisational support, resulting in a focus of OPs on sick leave and re-integration. Additional barriers related to opportunity include the complex legislation, inadequate provision of information and not being placed in the same department/company. As to the facilitating factors, occupational professionals with a higher sense of self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation are often more proactive in seeking collaboration and promoting preventative measures. <h3>Conclusion</h3> The outcomes of the interviews will serve as the foundation for developing a new tool tailored to the needs of occupational professionals. We anticipate that this new tool will assist occupational professionals in translating chemical exposure risks into health effects, contributing to the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases while also encouraging collaboration.