Regulating Risks for Musculo-Skeletal Disorders in the us and the Nordic Countries - Similarities and Differences

Abstract

Regulations are a rather new means for prevention of musculo-skeletal disorders, not least in the US, where the on-going discussion on a new OSHA ergonomics standard still is open. The tradition in the Nordic countries are somewhat longer; the first Swedish regulations entered into force 1984 and the current Norwegian regulation is from 1995. The major differences between the US and the Nordic ways in managing these matters are; the more evolved traditions of cooperation between representatives of employers and employees in the Nordic countries, the Nordic regulations covers all areas of working life, while the OSHA Draft has major exceptions, more emphasis on medical management in the OSHA Draft than in the Nordic regulations, the Nordic regulations are more proactive, as they address the risk factors more than the individual health effects. The major similarity is that the regulations rely on the same mass of scientific knowledge, although it might have been treated in slightly different ways.