Prevention and Solutions: An Ergonomic and Systems-Based Approach to Occupational Risks

Working conditions are a major concern for healthcare institutions, both in terms of protecting the health and well-being of healthcare professionals and ensuring the continuity and quality of care activities. Insufficient attention to working conditions can have numerous consequences, including physical and psychological health issues among professionals, absenteeism, organizational dysfunction, and disruption of work processes. Ultimately, these difficulties may also affect the quality and safety of patient care.
In hospital pharmacy units dedicated to the preparation of chemotherapy drugs, the complexity of activities, organizational constraints, and safety requirements make improving working conditions particularly important, but also challenging.
This presentation introduces an accessible prevention approach based on ergonomics and systems thinking, aimed at analyzing work situations and identifying improvement levers that are adapted to real-world practices.
The approach will be illustrated through a practical case study in a chemotherapy preparation unit, demonstrating how analysis of work activities and interactions between the various stakeholders can lead to concrete solutions that reconcile working conditions, process quality, and operational safety.