| Project Detail |
Chronic infections represent a major cause of human cancer: on a global scale, they are responsible for an estimated 13% of human cancers. Helicobacter pylori (Hp), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) are responsible together for 75% of these cases, or 10% of total cancer burden [De Martel et al., 2020]. Occupation health surveillance is mandatory in all European countries: although the mechanisms of its implementation vary between the countries, these programs are in general aimed at diagnosing and preventing work-related diseases. Prevention of occupational cancers has therefore been a component of occupational health surveillance. In recent years, however, there has been a movement towards including in occupational health surveillance aspects of health promotion which are not occupational in a strict sense. This approach stems from several considerations: (i) the contact between the worker and the health professional in charge of the surveillance can be seen as a privileged opportunity for health promotion in general; (ii) through the worker, the health promotion initiative may reach other groups of the population; (iii) because of the periodic nature of the visits entailed by the occupational health surveillance, it is possible to efficiently implement follow-up mechanisms.
The conceptual framework of the proposed research is based on the incorporation into on-going occupational surveillance schemes of primary prevention programs against infection with Hp, HCV and HPV. The overarching objectives of the proposed research are:
- to conduct a series of pilot projects aimed at assessing the effectiveness (including cost-effectiveness) of incorporating primary prevention interventions against Hp, HCV and HPV into existing occupational surveillance systems in high-risk populations, including its impact beyond the workers directly involved in the pilot projects;
- to identify barriers and bottlenecks for the implementation of such interventions.
This action is part of the Cancer Mission cluster of projects on ‘Prevention and early detection. |
