Occupational health interventions – context, challenges and possibilities for development: a scoping review

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the structure and functioning of interventions for diseases prevention and workers’ health promotion in Brazil according to the criteria of systematicity, transformative agency and transformation. Methods: we carried out a scope review of empirical studies published between 2010 and 2019. To evaluate and interpret the findings and discuss their possibilities and development trends, the three mentioned criteria were used. Results: 147 articles were included. Isolated elements of the productive system are more often subject to intervention than the entire system. Workers’ transformative agency is little stimulated, and the effective transformation of the conditions targeted appears more frequently in situations focused on changing only proximal aspects to health issues. Conclusion: although some studies report implemented changes, most of them do not refer to interventions on health determinants and do not involve the workers as protagonists of changes. The findings allowed to discuss development possibilities and challenges for interventions.