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SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIETY OF OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE

SASOM Annual Congress 2022

Friday, 29 July │ Friday, 26 August │Friday, 16 September │ Friday, 29 October
All Sessions (13h00 to 17h00) – Virtual / Digital Platform

“Updates in Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine in the COVID-19 era”

After not holding and annual congress over the past two years (2020 and 2021) due to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, SASOM will hold a CPD-accredited virtual annual congress over four months in 2022 and offer its members four congress sessions with individual themes, with four presentations in each session.

The session programmes are under development and more details will be shared with members soon.

Session 1 – Friday, 29 July 2022

13h00 – 17h00 (CAT)

“Updates on chemical exposures and medical surveillance”

12:45 - 13:10Registration / Logging In - Session 1
13:00 - 13:10Welcome and OpeningChair: Ms Claudina Nogueira
(SASOM ExCo, University of Pretoria, and ICOH)
Chair: Ms Claudina Nogueira (SASOM ExCo, University of Pretoria, and ICOH)
Each presentation = 40 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
13:10 - 14:00Manufacture of vaccines: Process and toxicologyDr Haidee Williams
(Occupational medicine specialist and consultant, University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa)
14:00 - 14:50Occupational exposures and the immune response in the COVID-19 era: Increased reactions to personal protective equipment (PPE)Ms Anna Fourie
(Immunology Section, National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH), South Africa)
14:50 - 15:10Comfort Break
Chair: Ms Claudina Nogueira (SASOM ExCo, University of Pretoria, and ICOH)
Each presentation = 40 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
15:10 - 16:00Malaria elimination can be attained through transdisciplinary and sustained programmes: A perspective from the UP ISMCDr Taneshka Kruger
(Senior Researcher and Project Manager, Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control (ISMC), University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa)
16:00 - 16:50Pesticide issues and the need for action: A perspective from IndiaDr Sashikala Chandrasekar
(Medical and occupational health consultant, Bangalore, India and current Chair: Scientific Committee on Rural Health, International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH))
16:50 - 17:00Acknowledgements and Session 1 Closure

 

Session 2 – Friday, 26 August 2022

13h00 – 17h00 (CAT)

“Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic”

 

12:45 - 13:10Registration / Logging In - Session 2
13:00 - 13:10Welcome and OpeningProfessor Daan Kocks
(Chair: SASOM)
Chair: Dr Itumeleng Ntatamala – Chair of the SASOM Western Cape Chapter
Each presentation = 40 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
13:10 - 14:00Clinical aspects of ‘long COVID’: What can we expect and for how long?Professor Veronica Ueckermann
(Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pretoria, South Africa)
14:00 - 14:50Occupational health management programmes and corporate pandemic preparedness in the post-COVID eraDr Herina Grobler
(Life Health Solutions at Ford Motor Company, South Africa)
14:50 - 15:10Comfort Break
Chair: Dr Zahida Sonday – Senior occupational medicine registrar, UCT
Each presentation = 40 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
15:10 - 16:00Challenges with adapting international COVID-19 diagnostic methods to the African contextDr Marvin Hsiao
(Division of Medical Virology, University of Cape Town and National Health Laboratory Service, South Africa)
16:00 - 16:50The Global Shortage of Health Workers: The peril to our health systemsDr Gwen Brachman
(Retired medical and occupational health consultant, New Jersey, USA and current Chair: Scientific Committee on Occupational Health for Health Workers, International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH))
16:50 - 17:00Acknowledgements and Session 2 Closure
Session 3 – Friday, 16 September 2022

13h00 – 17h00 (CAT)

Updates on ergonomics, musculoskeletal disorders, and psychosocial factors at work”

12:45 - 13:00Registration / Logging In - Session 3
13:00 - 13:10Welcome and OpeningProfessor Daan Kocks
(Chair: SASOM)
Chair: Dr Spo Kgalamono - Executive Director: National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH)
Each presentation = 40 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
13:10 - 14:00Guidance for psychosocial interventions in the workplace: Experience from international organizationsDr Tessa Bailey
(The OPUS Centre for Psychosocial Risk, Adelaide, Australia)
14:00 - 14:50Impairment and fitness for work: An educated guess?Dr Odette Volmink
(Department of Occupational Medicine, NIOH, Johannesburg, South Africa)
14:50 - 15:10Comfort Break
Chair: Professor Daan Kocks - SASOM Chair
Each presentation = 40 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
15:10 - 16:00Challenges in the mental health decision-making process at work: Solutions from an Occupational Therapy perspectiveMs Al-Mari Botes
(Function First Assessment and Rehabilitation Practice, Western Cape, South Africa)
16:00 - 16:50Alcohol, tobacco, obesity, and sleep in Occupational Health Services: A perspective from PortugalDr Jorge Barroso Dias
(President: Portuguese Society of Occupational Medicine (SPMT),
Lisbon, Portugal)
16:50 - 17:00Acknowledgements and Session 3 Closure
Session 4 – Friday, 28 October 2022

13h00 – 17h00 (CAT)

“Updates on occupational health and medicine: Workplace legislation, ethics, and compensation”

 (Draft Programme)

Accreditation: This congress is CPD accredited. 4 Clinical (Level 1) CEUs will be awarded per session if the session was attended in full.
While every effort is made to present the programme as will be indicated, SASOM cannot be held liable for changes that may occur due to unforeseen circumstances.