How can a patient’s occupational history contribute to understanding their health? This question is at the heart of a practical learning activity involving 4th-year Medicine and MEDTEC School students, whose research posters have been on display all week in the foyer of Building A.
As part of their clinical rotations, students conducted occupational interviews with patients in hospital wards to investigate how current or previous work activities may contribute to the onset or progression of disease. Through these interviews, they explored patients’ job tasks, work organisation and exposure to occupational risk factors, assessing the timing, duration and intensity of exposure while also considering non-occupational factors.
The resulting posters presented the students’ findings and examined possible causal or contributory relationships between occupational exposure and disease. The projects were previously presented and discussed in class, providing an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to real clinical cases and develop a systematic approach to occupational history-taking.
The occupational history-taking activity has been an integral part of the Occupational and Environmental Health course for several years, taught by Prof. Franca Barbic – Associate Professor of Occupational Medicine at Humanitas University, who organised and supervised the activities carried out by the students.
By integrating occupational history into routine clinical assessment, the project highlights the importance of considering work as a potential determinant of health and as an additional element in understanding each patient’s clinical picture.
