Ss25-03 Labour Participation in Jacardi: Increasing the Skills and Knowledge of Occupational Physicians in Patient Education

Abstract Introduction The EU’s JACARDI project encompasses 11 Work Packages (WPs) addressing various aspects of health and everyday functioning of people living with non-communicable diseases, in particular with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes (DM). WP11 aims to support such people’s labour participation by mapping factors which affect it and testing solutions to improve it. As health literacy was found to be among the factors influencing labour participation, a pilot activity was proposed within WP11 to increase: (i) health literacy among working-age patients diagnosed with CVD/DM or their risk factors, and (ii) health literacy knowledge and skills among occupational physicians. Materials and Methods Workshops and on-line courses will be carried out to teach physicians evidence-based methods of health literacy assessment and patient education. Next, patients’ health literacy will be assessed by the physicians with the use of Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ). Based on the results, tailor-made educational interventions will be delivered to the patients to improve their health literacy and awareness of CVD/DM management. Results The pilot is planned to reach 40 physicians and 800 of their patients at occupational health centres in three provinces of Poland. The activity is intended as a case study for the development of a roadmap to scale up experiences at a regional or national level. Conclusions Since occupational health checks are compulsory in many EU countries, occupational physicians are uniquely positioned to reach a majority of working-age population. If scaled up, the pilot may become good practice supporting inclusion, retainment, return to work and workplace wellbeing in the target patient groups.