[Health education on occupational risks: a target not yet achieved? Workers' opinions collected via a questionnaire]

This study collected the opinions of sample of workers, sent to the Department of Occupational Medicine of Brescia Civil Hospital, on the contents and the methods used for carrying out information programs on the occupational risks in their workplaces.

A questionnaire including three sections has been prepared: in the first section demographic data and information on the job were collected, in the second section the contents of programs on the prevention of occupational risks were evaluated, the third section investigated how these programs have been performed.

250 workers have been examined; 16 self-employed workers have been excluded. Mean length of employment was sixteen years. 29% of workers reported to have received information about the role of the main actors of the prevention in the workplaces according to the Italian legislation; overall 41.8% of workers have been informed both on occupational risks in their factory and specific job-related risks, potential occupational diseases and working procedures to prevent these risks. 7.2% of workers did not receive any information on occupational risks. 24% of subjects referred the involvement of the occupational physician in the information meetings. 55% of these meetings lasted more than 60 minutes and included frontal lectures and the delivery of information leaflets; learning assessment was referred by 50% of the workers and 77.9% considered the information (contents and quality) at least sufficient.

This study, even if preliminary and based on anamnestic data, pointed out that, at this moment, careful information on occupational risks in the workplaces seems a target not yet achieved. It is desirable to verify in the future the improvement of the quality of information given to workers, following the entry into force of the recent Italian legislation concerning this topic.