Evidence on the effectiveness of occupational health interventions.
BACKGROUND
At present there exists no overview of the range of evidence currently available regarding the effectiveness of occupational health interventions (OHI).


METHODS
Articles published in 2000 and 2001 in 16 general and specialized biomedical journals were searched for evaluations of OHI studies.


RESULTS
Out of 8,687 articles searched there were 148 OHI studies. In 21% of the studies the study design was a randomized controlled trial, in 28% it was a controlled trial, an interrupted time-series in 7% and a different design in 44%. The occupational health outcome was exposure in 27% of the studies, worker behavior in 12%, disease symptoms in 30%, disability or sickness absence in 24%, injuries in 4%, and quality of care in 3%.


CONCLUSIONS
High quality evaluation studies are conducted in all areas of occupational health. However, it is clear that more are needed and the methodology used could be improved.
Ruotsalainen
Jani H
JH
Cochrane Occupational Health Field, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Kuopio, Finland. jani.ruotsalainen@ttl.fi
Verbeek
Jos H
JH
Salmi
Jukka A
JA
Jauhiainen
Merja
M
Laamanen
Irja
I
Pasternack
Iris
I
Husman
Kaj
K
D000041:Absenteeism; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D016272:Occupational Health; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012107:Research Design; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control