Occupational Medicine And Health Security: Advancing Health Protection In The Workplace

Abstract

Occupational medicine and health security have increasingly converged as complementary frameworks for protecting worker health and ensuring organizational and societal resilience in the face of evolving occupational and public health threats. While occupational medicine traditionally focuses on the prevention, early detection, and management of work-related diseases and injuries, health security emphasizes preparedness, surveillance, and response to large-scale health risks such as infectious disease outbreaks, chemical incidents, and environmental emergencies. This article examines the conceptual and practical integration of occupational medicine and health security as a comprehensive approach to advancing health protection in modern workplaces.

Using an evidence-based narrative review of international guidelines, policy frameworks, and peer-reviewed literature, the article explores major occupational health hazards, delineates the distinct and overlapping roles of occupational medicine and health security, and proposes an integrated model that links clinical surveillance with system-level preparedness and response. Sector-specific applications across healthcare, industrial, construction, energy, and essential service settings are discussed, highlighting how integrated approaches enhance workforce protection and operational continuity. The analysis further addresses policy, ethical, and regulatory considerations, as well as organizational performance implications, including productivity, cost containment, resilience, and workforce sustainability.

The findings suggest that integrating occupational medicine with health security transforms workplace health protection from a reactive, compliance-driven function into a proactive, strategic system. Such integration strengthens early warning capacity, improves crisis response, and supports national health security objectives. The article concludes that embedding integrated occupational health and health security frameworks within organizational and public health systems is essential for safeguarding workers, sustaining essential services, and addressing future health challenges.