[The role of ergonomics in the prevention of work-related diseases]

Processes linking individual situations and behaviours, as disclosed by the ergonomic analysis of job, to populations' epidemiological characteristics are discussed here. Epidemiology proposes deterministic models of general significance, reflecting stable phenomenons within wide populations. Ergonomics proposes cybernetic (or systemic) models of time- and space-limited significance, reflecting the variety of adapting and assimilating behaviours in homogeneous groups of workers. Regarding prevention, both approaches complement one another.