User:Saltrabook/Introduction

Occupational medicine is the branch of clinical medicine most active in the field of occupational health. The aim of the book is to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of occupational diseases. The handbook will be edited mainly by the occupational medical members of the SALTRA Panamá group. SALTRA (Salud del trabajo Centroamerica) was founded in 2003 in order to develop national and regional capacities in Central America for the prevention of occupational risks and support sustainable production in order to reduce and prevent poverty in the region. Hopefully the handbook will be indispensable for all family doctors, doctors at the hospitals and the Social Security in Panama (Caja Seguro Social). also we hope the book will be useful in the postgrade courses for family doctors in occupaitonal medicine and it willbe their companion in practice. It is the intention to develop the handbook gradually over the next many years. We also want to invite all other occupational medical physicians and other occupational health professionals from Central America and other tropical countries. The intention is to create a dynamic developing handbook that will be the most useful companion for the Family doctors and for the training and education in occupational medicine in tropical countries. Today very few medical doctors are formally specialised in occupational medicine in Panamá and most other tropical countries. The occupational medicine is practised mainly be the family doctors with some sparse traning in occupational medicine. Another important part of occupational medicine is practised by the psychiatrists in the hospitals. It is the hope that the handbook can help also to point out the gaps of research will inspire all occupational professionals to start research groups and develop a culture for reading and producing scientific litterature. Thereby to establish the fundament for the evidence based occupational health research (under development and should not be deleted!).