Health care workers world-wide are increasingly a high risk group for occupational diseases and injuries. Aging of the populations, rapid changes in the work life and economies, increased mobility of people as a consequence of globalization, and several adverse health phenomena in the world put additional pressures on improving the work and working conditions of health care workers. WHO and its Collaborating Centre Network has established a Task Force that is helping to prepare WHO Guidelines for Health Care Workers.

The work being undertaken includes compilation and sharing of existing training materials and preparation of new materials for health care workers, including the following:

• A "Safety Climate" assessment tool
• Packaged training course (available in English and in Spanish) in occupational health for health care workers
• 5-day training course/workshop for hospitals
• Expertise on research methods
• Compilation of existing training materials
• Train-the-trainer programme for hospital occupational health professionals
• Training materials for prevention of latex allergies and safe use of chemotherapy agents
• Materials for workplace health promotion for nurses
• Contribution to WHO Guidelines to prevent musculoskeletal injuries among nursing home workers.
• Contribution to WHO Guidelines on prevention of needlestick injuries and HIV/hepatitis.
• Development of documents on hazards to health care workers, in hospitals and for home health care workers.
• Contribution to WHO Guidelines on emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorism risks to health care workers.

Additional projects consider hospitals as settings for pilot studies, and address the issue of gaining support of the decision-makers for improving working conditions in the health care sector.