[Health and safety professional roles and competencies to promote company-level integration of preventive actions. A Delphy study].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the view of faculty who train health and safety professionals on the roles and competencies needed to promote the integration of preventive actions at the company level.


METHODS
We used a Delphi method, in three rounds, on an intentional sample of experts, and asked them to rate the appropriateness, relevance and acceptability of 8 professional roles, on a scale of 1 to 9 points. We also asked them to formulate and rank order the corresponding competencies, in order of importance.


RESULTS
Participant responses (n=76, 58% of the initially identified faculty) show a broad consensus when assessing professional roles (over 85% of participants rated two of these roles highly, with scores between 7 and 9) and general agreement on the three most important competencies in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes to promote the integration of preventive actions.


CONCLUSIONS
The experts participating in this study agreed that the main roles to be performed by health and safety professionals to promote prevention integration are as advisors and trainers. The competencies considered most important are knowledge about the company activity, its risks and the problems linked to the activity (to know), ability to work in multidisciplinary teams (to know how), and to perform professional duties ethically, with independence and impartiality (to know how to be).
Centre d'Investigació en Salut Laboral (CiSAL), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, 08003, Spain. clara.gual@upf.edu.
Clara
C
Gual Llorens
José María
JM
Velarde Collado
Mariona
M
Portell Vidal
Pere
P
Boix Ferrando
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003697:Delphi Technique; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D011314:Preventive Health Services; D024382:Professional Role