# Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, University of Panamá

Spanish version

## Mission

The mission is to contribute to a healthy and safe work and life environment through teaching, training, research and dissemination of research. Some of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations (UN) represent occupational health research needs to achieve the objectives, for example. Goal 2 Food security and nutrition and sustainable agriculture Goal 5 Gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls ". Goal 8 Employment, decent work for all and social protection and other goals is open to collaboration with other countries Development goals sustainable Decent work - also impact of ILO policies.

## Vision

The vision is to produce and disseminate the knowledge that will be used for risk prevention in workplaces, authorities, medical clinics, hospitals and others to achieve a healthy environment. The "environment" includes stress in the workplace, air, water, soil, social and cultural, economic and environmental. Through our research and the provision of new external knowledge, we improve the understanding of how the environment can affect health and change dangerous environments. Through our teaching, we educate specialists in occupational and environmental medicine, scientists and policy makers.

## Objectives

* Continuing education in occupational medicine.
* Pre and postgraduate training in research.
* Scientific research and monitoring in occupational and environmental health
* National and international collaboration

## Specific objectives

* Provide scientific training and supervise the scientific projects of doctors in the Residency Program (paused)
* Implement evidence-based medicine in patient care, teaching and research.
* Conduct research and monitoring on the highest international scientific standards
* Launch "Preventive Health Science" journal regularly.
* Attract and educate new researchers and specialists.
* Collaborate with other medical specialties and other national institutions.
* Establish research and education collaboration with international universities (SENACYT)
* Establish a Panamanian Ramazzini Center
* Establish a PhD school (Graduate School) in Panama with international universities.

## Researchers

* Dr. Olaf Jensen, Occup Med specialist, supervisor for research projects
* Dra. Adya Mitchel Correa, general medical specialist (CSS Vacamonte)
* Dra. Cynthia Pinzon, general medical specialist (CSS, Arraijan)
* Dra. Thania Aguilar, general medical specialist (priv. El Cangrejo clinic)
* Lic. Angel Gutierrez, Subdir. AMP Vacamonte region
* Prof. Agnes Flores, head of research and teaching ULAPS, CSS Vacamonte

## Titles of the ongoing research projects

* Analysis of work-related clinical data (TA)
* Epidemiological study of musculoskeletal disorders in the health sector (CP, OJ)
* Analysis of work-related clinical data (AMC)
* Epidemiological study of professional risks in fisheries (AG, AF)
* A review study of the relationship between mental health and disease (AMC)
* Level of knowledge about Occupational Health in fishermen of Puerto Vacamonte (AF, OJ)
* Analysis of clinical data related to work in family medicine (CP)
LINKS to open:

## Historical Development of the Program

* Education and Research in Occupational Medicine

## Publicaciónes:

* Jensen OC, Andrioti D, Baygi F, Charalambous G, Flores A, Canals L. Strategies for Prevention of Non–communicable Diseases : Lessons Learned. International J. Com. Family Medicine 2018.
* Jensen OC, Charalambous G, Andrioti D. Perceived Training Needs of Maritime Doctors and General Practitioners. Int J Travel Med Glob Health. 2018;6(4):154–160.
* Jensen OC, Baygi F, Charalambous G, Flores A, Laursen LH, Lucas D. Mental health promotion program in the workplace with focus on transport. Archives of Psychiatry and Mental Health. 2019;2019(3):1–11.
* Jensen, O. C., Flores, A., Bygvraa, D. A., Baygi, F., & Charalambous, G. (2019). How to calculate incidence rates from proportionate data. International Maritime Health, 70(3), 187-192.
* Jensen OC, Andrioti D, Baygi F, Charalambous G, Flores A. Review of Epidemiological Studies in Latin American Fishing. Journal of Agromedicine. 2019 Jul 11;1-10.
* Van de Sijpe P, Delcourt N, Lucas D, Luisa Canals, Jensen OC. Review of acute phosphine intoxications reported from the maritime shipping and ports. Accepted for publ., International Maritime Health 2020.
* Lucas D*, Lux H, Balázs A, Jensen OC, Lodde B, Gourier G, Pougnet R. Systematic Review on occupational allergic diseases in fisheries' industry. (*Brest University) Under preparation for publication in 2020
* Jensen OC. Despena Andrioti Bygvraa, Fereshteh Baygi, George Charalambous, Agnes Flores. How epidemiology help workers to return healthy from sea(PhD Dissertation) 2020