Research in Psychosocial Factors at Work in Latin-American Region

An extensive body of research bearing on the impact of psychosocial factors at work has developed. Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) researchers in North America Asia and Europe have begun to document the magnitude of the association between psychosocial factors and health, and examine the nature of the link in specific populations (NIOSH, 1999; Kawakami, 2010; Leka, 2010).

By Contrast, OHP research has hardly evolved in developing countries such as Latin-American ones. Despite the very difficult working conditions existing in these countries (Gutiérrez, 2000), training, practice, and research in OHP are relatively scarce. In a 1980’s WHO publication, El-Batawi (1988) declared that systematic studies of work and health in developing countries are "urgently needed." Unfortunately, international reviews and handbooks published so far do not include sufficient coverage of Latin-American countries.

However, some initial and important advances have been made in terms of job psychosocial research. In this presentation, some of this advances will be commented as well as some comparative findings in 6 Latinamerican Countries with the most widely used psychosocial stress models: Effort Reward Imbalance and Demand/Control Model. In general, the most important achievements and future challenges will be discussed.