Prevention in the workplace traced through Italian Occupational Health conferences

This paper traces the history of prevention in the workplace as seen throug h the Annals of National Occupational Health Conferences in Italy. At the b eginning of this century conferences were concerned with the illnesses men contract in certain types of work. Later conferences indicated the need for medical examination to prevent occupational illness, underlined the social relevance of this new branch of medicine and shifted the emphasis from cur e to prevention. In the late 1920s and in the 1930s, cultural, technical, scientific, politi cal and social events led to a realisation of the importance of the scienti fic organisation of labour, the introduction of general regulations on indu strial hygiene and the first list of illnesses to be covered by insurance. In subsequent years, the factory physician and factory health services play ed a Very important role in occupational prevention. Since the mid-1950s, prevention has been based on Italian legislation and I LO recommendations. In recent years, new laws have extended the principles of occupational medicine to all industrial sectors.