Chronic illnesses like cancer and cardiovascular diseases have surpassed accidents as the leading causes of work-related fatalities in the Nordic countries. A recent report commissioned by the Nordic Future of Work and Occupational Safety and Health group underscore an urgent need for course correction of occupational safety and health research, policy and practice. The study offers valuable insights for the NDPHS region and calls for a paradigm shift to robust disease prevention strategies.

Gain practical knowledge and professional experience related to the NDPHS activities, we are looking for a motivated trainee to join our team in the NDPHS Secretariat in Stockholm, Sweden. The programme grants a monthly scholarship. Read more what is in it for you and begin 2025 with a unique experience!

On 4-5 November, the partners from the project “Solutions for Age-Friendly Employers - SAFE” gathered in Helsinki to advance the development of an age-friendly workplace self-assessment tool. Over two intensive days, the partners explored innovative age-management practices, with presentations from the Finnish start-up Nextmile and students at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. By the end of the workshop, the partners had crafted a preliminary set of indicators for assessing age-friendliness in workplaces.

As a non-clinical and non-pharmacological approach to mental healthcare, Arts on Prescription bridges two sectors: culture and health. Although there is growing interest in this field, a framework for setting up, coordinating, and incorporating this approach into existing healthcare systems and mental health care services is still lacking. Our Interreg BSR project “Arts on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region” aims to bridge this gap and outlines the various benefits of Arts on Prescription in a recently published brochure.

Last week our attention was on the 74th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe. Health ministers and high-level delegates from the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region, as well as representatives of partner organizations including the NDPHS Secretariat, and regional non-State actors, met in Copenhagen.

In September, the MentalHealthMatters Transnational Community of Practice gathered for a workshop in Stockholm, hosted by the NDPHS Secretariat. The participants explored practices related to psychosocial work environments across the Baltic Sea Region. Promising practices from Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway, and Poland were presented and the goal was to examine how social innovations in this field have facilitated behavioural and organisational changes.

On September 25th, partners from the SAFE project financed by Interreg Central Baltic gathered at the NDPHS Secretariat office in Stockholm. The project is actively progressing and we have begun working on composing solutions for age-friendly organizations. This time we met in person to ensure a shared understanding of how to carry out the workshops and to gather input for the self-assessment tool.