This series of short informative case studies looks at a range of policy level initiatives across Europe and beyond aiming to prevent and manage work-related MSDs. The studies focus on achievements, factors contributing to their success and challenges encountered, and transferability to other sectors and countries.

This series of short informative case studies looks at a range of policy level initiatives across Europe and beyond aiming to prevent and manage work-related MSDs. The studies focus on achievements, factors contributing to their success and challenges encountered, and transferability to other sectors and countries.

This series of short informative case studies looks at a range of policy level initiatives across Europe and beyond aiming to prevent and manage work-related MSDs. The studies focus on achievements, factors contributing to their success and challenges encountered, and transferability to other sectors and countries.

This series of short informative case studies looks at a range of policy level initiatives across Europe and beyond aiming to prevent and manage work-related MSDs. The studies focus on achievements, factors contributing to their success and challenges encountered, and transferability to other sectors and countries.

These resources are to enable organisations to use Napo films to raise awareness about health and safety topics (including MSDs) within groups of their own staff and supply chains. The resources will enable organisations to deliver advice on health and safety topics, and will help generate discussion around the topics. They are also suitable for use on vocational training courses.

This case study highlights Germany’s holistic approach to tackling musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), facilitated by a comprehensive legal framework. MSDs are the most common cause of absence from work in Germany, and preventing them is one of the priorities of the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy.

The UK legislative framework addressing MSDs has been in place for nearly 40 years, and the policy approach is to inform and enable employers, encouraging them to address risks. The strategy under discussion is the latest in a series of initiatives stretching back 20 years. MSDs are addressed under this strategy through a health priority plan and embedded in sector-specific plans and other activities avoiding in this way compartmentalisation.

This case study reports on an initiative in Sweden to raise awareness of and improve women’s occupational health in general and to reduce their risks of developing MSDs in particular. Under the initiative, labour inspectors were given training in mainstreaming gender into their everyday practice. They then carried out inspections targeting workplaces and sectors in which women predominate and initiated discussions with employers where risk prevention measures were found to be inadequate. 

he TMS Pros programme offers businesses support to prevent work-related MSDs and provides financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises. To improve the epidemiological surveillance of occupational risks in France, a system for monitoring work-related health problems called CONSTANCES has been set up. The programme will improve understanding of the links between occupational factors and health problems and provide a strong evidence base for policy decisions.

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