[What are the non-medical individual and collective objectives?]

INDIVIDUAL NON-MEDICAL OBJECTIVES ARE: Information to patients concerning their past exposure to asbestos and their right to compensation; equity demands that every person potentially eligible should be fully informed. Social recognition. Facilitation of compensation by informing the patient and his physician of the mechanisms. COLLECTIVE NON-MEDICAL OBJECTIVES ARE: Social visibility, contributing to the prevention of occupational cancer. Better balance of the Social Security budget since it is the employers who bear the cost of compensation of occupational diseases. Improved epidemiological understanding of the circumstances of exposure and the most commonly concerned occupations and industries. Evaluation of the mechanisms of management of occupational diseases. PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT: It is of the same magnitude as any screening procedure; it should be acceptable and avoid long-term negative psychological effects; it may be useful to implement specific support for the few patients with psychological problems.