Photo competition as a tool for providing occupational health education to general secondary school students

Education on occupational health and safety (OHS) is not a compulsory part of the curriculum of general secondary schools (GSSs) in many countries. Adolescence is a formative period. Mainstreaming education in OHS into GSSs is necessary in order to initiate in students a risk prevention culture. We explored the feasibility of using a photo competition (PC) concerning health protection at work as a health education tool by assessing the degrees of relevant responses of students aged 13-18, teachers, parents and private enterprises and by identifying the types of work and hazards selected in 17 state and non-state GSSs of a Greek municipality.

Following the mayor's decision to hold a PC, prizes were secured from 11 private donors, the PC was publicized widely, and presentations on OHS were delivered to students by an occupational physician and suitably instructed teachers; the students then took photos of identifiable work situations containing OHS hazards, with protection either present or absent. Photos were assessed by juries of the Municipality and of the European Centre for the Environment and Health of the WHO.

The 87 photos submitted revealed that students had an understanding of 15 types of OHS hazards, mainly knocks and blows (28.7%) and falls from heights (26.4%) but also of diseases (respiratory, back pain, hearing loss), in 28 types of non-school work, mostly in transport (12.6%) and construction (9.1%), and recognized measures for protection in 50.5% of photos.

This PC concerning OHS in GSSs is the first reported in the literature, and it proved to be a feasible, extracurricular educational activity that requires increased teacher collaboration within the school curriculum.