SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIETY OF OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE
SASOM Annual Congress 2023
Friday, 30 June │ Friday, 28 July │Friday, 25 August │ Friday, 29 September
All Sessions (13h00 to 17h00) – Virtual / Digital Platform
“Occupational Health Practice in 2023 – Shining a light on the shadows of Medicine”
SASOM is holding a CPD-accredited virtual annual congress over four months in 2023 – the last Friday of the months of June, July, August, and September (13h00 to 17h00 SA time) – to offer its members four congress sessions with individual themes, with four presentations in each session.
The overall theme of the Congress is “Occupational Health Practice in 2023 – Shining a light on the shadows of Medicine”, and this common thread will link all four sessions.
These sessions are currently under development and presenters are in the process of being confirmed.
More details will be shared with members soon.
- Session 4 - 29 September 2023
- Session 1 - 30 June 2023
- Session 2 - 28 July 2023
- Session 3 - 25 August 2023
Session 4 – Friday, 29 September 2023
13h00 – 17h00 (CAT)
“Ergonomics and Psychosocial Factors in the Workplace”
12:45 - 13:00 Registration / Logging In - Session 4
13:00 - 13:10 Welcome and Opening
Chair: Dr Frank Fox (SASOM Secretary)
Each presentation = 40 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
13:10 - 14:00 Psychosocial risk management and the promotion of health, safety and wellbeing in the future of work: Guidance for occupational health medical practitioners (OHMPs) Professor Stavroula Leka
(Universities of Lancaster and Nottingham, UK; ICOH Board Member; Past Chair of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Work Organisation and Psychosocial Factors)
14:00 - 14:50 The Ergonomics Regulations and occupational health: Synergising ergonomics risk assessment, medical surveillance and functional assessment of worker fitness Mrs Lyndsey Swart Occupational Therapist
(University of Pretoria, Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa (OTASA), Occupational Therapy in Occupational Health (OTOH), South Africa)
14:50 - 15:10 Comfort Break
15:10 - 16:00 New digital tools in the assessment and management of work-related musculoskeletal disorders Dr Deepak Sharan
(Consultant in Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, Bangalore, India, and Chair of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Musculoskeletal Disorders)
16:00 - 16:20 Update on the ICOH2024 Congress Ms Claudina Nogueira
(Vice President: International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and SASOM ExCo)
16:20 - 16:30 Acknowledgements and Session 4 Closure
Session 1: 4 Clinical CEUs will be awarded if this session was attended in full.
Session 1 – Friday, 30 June 2023
13h00 – 17h00 (SAST)
“Good practice for Occupational Health Medical Practitioners (OHMPs)”
12:45 - 13:10 Registration / Logging In - Session 1
13:00 - 13:10 Welcome and Opening Professor Daan Kocks
(SASOM Chair)
Chair: Dr André Kotze (SASOM Vice Chair)
Each presentation = 40 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
13:10 - 14:00 Workers in a warming world: More than just heat injuries and productivity losses Dr Jason Kai Wei Lee
(National University of Singapore and Chair of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Thermal Factors)
14:00 - 14:50 Additive manufacturing / ’3D-printing’: An emerging occupational health concern or not? Professor Johan du Plessis
(Northwest University (NWU) and Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene (SAIOH), South Africa)
14:50 - 15:10 Comfort Break
15:10 - 16:00 The role of primary healthcare (PHC) in occupational health - Primary identification, initial management and referral Ms Michelle Bester
(South African Society of Occupational Health Nursing Practitioners (SASOHN), South Africa)
16:00 - 16:50 The ‘haves and have-nots’: Lessons from occupational health services in corporates, small- and medium-scale enterprises, and what about the informal sector? Professor Carel Hulshof
(University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Secretary of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Effectiveness in Occupational Health Services)
16:50 - 17:00 Acknowledgements and Session 1 Closure
Session 1: 4 Clinical CEUs will be awarded if this session was attended in full.
Session 2 – Friday, 28 July 2023
13h00 – 17h00 (SAST)
“Updates in Legislation, Compensation and Ethics in Occupational Health”
12:45 - 13:10 Registration / Logging In - Session 2
13:00 - 13:10 Welcome and Opening Dr Geoffrey Tafaune
(SASOM Treasurer)
Chair: Dr Frank Fox (SASOM Vice Chair)
Each presentation = 40 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
13:10 - 14:00 Legal accountabilities of the occupational service provider: Wading through the changes in ethical rules for medical records and how these are impacted by the POPI Act Dr Jan Lapere
(Occupational Health Legal Advisor and SASOM ExCo)
14:00 - 14:50 Compensation and ethics of occupational diseases and return to work policies and strategies: The role of the DoEL and COIDA and how gaps can be addressed Ms Elsabé Klinck
(Managing Director: Elsabé Klinck and Associates, Johannesburg, South Africa)
14:50 - 15:10 Comfort Break
15:10 - 16:00 Interrogating the updated regulations in South Africa: Hazardous chemical agents, hazardous biological agents, noise-induced hearing loss, and physical agents Mr Warren Mallon
(Deputy Director: Occupational Health and Hygiene (Physical Stressors), Department of Employment and Labour,
South Africa)
16:00 - 16:50 Occupational asthma and dermatitis: Guidelines for managing two very common occupational diseases and aspects of compensation Dr Tshegofatso Mabelane
(Allergologist: ‘About Allergy’,
South Africa)
16:50 - 17:00 Acknowledgements and Session 2 Closure
Session 3 – Friday, 25 August 2023
13h00 – 17h00 (SAST)
“Emerging issues and hot topics in Occupational Health and Medicine”
12:45 - 13:00 Registration / Logging In - Session 3
13:00 - 13:10 Welcome and Opening Dr Geoffrey Tafaune
(SASOM Treasurer)
Chair: Prof Daan Kocks (SASOM Chair)
Each presentation = 40 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
13:10 - 14:00 Fast facts on nanotechnology: Implications for occupational health and safety Dr Veruscka Leso
(University of Naples Frederico II, Naples, Italy and Secretary: ICOH Scientific Committee on Toxicology of Metals)
14:00 - 14:50 Nursing and hazardous drugs: A gender-based approach to the conditions and consequences of their use Dr Amparo Benavent
(OSH Unit of Healthcare, Regional Ministry of Valencia, Spain)
14:50 - 15:10 Comfort Break
15:10 - 16:00 Identifying & mitigating Occupational Health Risks Among Traditional healers: An individually randomized controlled trial to improve Personal Protective Equipment Use among Traditional Healers in South Africa Dr Ryan Wagner
(Senior Research Fellow, MRC/Wits Agincourt Research Unit,
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa)
and
Professor Carolyn Marie Audet
(Department of Health Policy and the Institute for Global Health,
Vanderbilt University, USA)
16:00 - 16:50 The Future of Work: it’s all about Algorithms Dr Max Lum
(National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), USA)
16:50 - 17:00 Acknowledgements and Session 3 Closure
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.
