THE PRESENT STATE OF OCCUPATIONAL-MEDICINE IN POLAND

Occupational medicine in Poland has a long tradition, dating back to t he establishment of the first health-care institutions for industrial workers at an early stage of Poland's industrialization. Legal foundat ions of the industrial health-care system, based on the Soviet model, were enacted in 1953. During its most dynamic period of development (1 970s and 1980s) the industrial health-care system provided medical ser vices to about 6 million workers. The process of the political and eco nomic transition in Poland began in 1989, and since 1991 there have be en numerous transformations in the structure and function of industria l health services. The present article describes the main stages of th e transformation process, occupational health training, research, advi sory bodies, and the system for setting of hygienic standards.