[Occupational medicine for small business. Realizations and perspectives]

Occupational health for small enterprises includes more problems than rewards: scattered workforce, limited financial means, wide differences in sociological and technological status, few manifest results, etc. But it is probably the most necessary application of the concept, although it is generally less compulsory. What is to be recommended now? One must keep in mind that small workplaces have a special need for occupational health care (even if they fail to recognize it). Tactical priorities must be ranked according to needs and means. Incentives and regulations that are not too encroaching should be set. Occupational health units should be comprised of complementary technicians. Specific research with technical and sociological expertise should be implemented. Changes in conditions should not be made merely for change alone, but after careful evaluation and without passivity. The feeling of being health's missionary in the Kingdom of production should be retained.