The Workers' Health field: reclaiming knowledge and practices in the interface between work and health

Abstract

This article discusses the underlying theoretical and operational premises in the fields of workers' health and occupational health, highlighting their respective frameworks and epistemological differences, based on Foucaultian archeology. the theme is particularly relevant, due to: the apparently limited attention to interdisciplinary research approaches in workers' health; various setbacks in public health measures at the social policy level; related weaknesses in the Brazilian trade union movement; and the conceptual misinterpretations drafted into the final report of the 3(rd) National Workers' Health Conference in November, 2005, convened by the Ministries of Social Security, Health, and Labor. the event resulted from the Workers' Health Conferences held in various States and Municipalities, mobilizing some 100,000 activists throughout Brazil and electing the delegates to the 3(rd) National Conference.