Welcome to the Department of Occupational Health Engineering

     Department of Occupational Health began its educational and research activities simultaneous with the establishment of the School of Public Health, in 1987. The goals of the Occupational Health Department at the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences are to characterize work-related injuries and illnesses and to use this information to inform prevention activities that will improve the health and safety of Iranian’s workforce. To accomplish this goal, the department supports a broad range of research, and training activities. The principal research focus is to reduce the uncertainty in estimating human health risks associated with exposure to potentially harmful agents. Training activities include a comprehensive curriculum in occupational health leading to the BS, MS or PhD degree. Occupational health department focuses on the causes of work-related injuries, illnesses, deaths, and the reduction of those risks.  Risks can be from physical, mechanical, biological or chemical hazards in the workplace. Work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths are often preventable.  Workplace safety can be improved by following health and safety guidelines. The Department of Occupational health was founded in 1990 and is now top of department at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in the safety and labour Health in Islamic Republic of Iran. The Ministry of Health and Medical Education recognized the department to excellence centre of occupational health in Islamic Republic of Iran at 2014. The Centre is in charge of instructing students in Occupational Health and Ergonomics. The Excellence Centre  of Occupational Health play vital roles in anticipating, recognizing, assessing, controlling and managing workplace  and  currently consists of 11 full-time faculty members. The excellence centre of occupational health is a key component of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences approach and offer courses in fundamental and current topics in  to industrial hygiene, exposure assessment, control technology, ergonomics, physical hazards, analysis and control of chemical agents, occupational toxicology, safety and protection of workers at workplaces. The excellence centre of occupational health provides graduate training at both the master and doctoral level. The Occupational Health Laboratory is a modern facility that constituted an integrated infrastructure supporting research and technological development and offering a wide range of laboratory services. It promotes occupational safety and hygiene, using the most varied and appropriate methodologies to assess working conditions, supported by cutting-edge equipment. Its activity provides guidance for the, the identification of sentinel health events, and monitor exposures in working populations in order to prevent and control occupational hazards and their associated diseases and injuries. The laboratory provides analytical and consulting services whether to corporations, occupational physicians, safety technicians or others, at the occupational health area. From the numerous conceivable evaluations, these stand out:

Physical Agents: occupational noise, vibrations (transmitted to the hand-arm system and the whole body), illuminance, luminance, non-coherent optical radiation, thermal stress and comfort.

Chemical Agents: Aerosol such as inhalable and respirable particulates, gases and vapour.

The chemical compounds Laboratory for post graduate students:

This laboratory program has Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) , Gas Chromatography (GC), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC); cold vapor and graphite furnace atomic absorption and spectroscopy ,  UV/VIS spectrophotometry and ion chromatography.  The GC/MS testing section analyzes environmental and other samples for volatile and semi-volatile toxic organic contaminants. The GC and HPLC laboratory sections analyze environmental and other samples for toxic organic contaminants. The Sample Preparation section performs various sample preparation, extraction and clean-up protocols previous to GC/MS, GC, HPLC and ABS. The Trace Metal analyzes aqueous and several non-aqueous sample matrices for the presence of trace metals by cold vapor and graphite furnace atomic absorption and spectroscopy. Solid-phase extraction (SPE), solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME), and headspace sampling are performed in this laboratory.

Policy:

The department through the outstanding faculty member and talented students has three large missions including educational, research and scientific authority in the country and world.

In addition to the important task of training a specialist, capable and committed professional, the department commits undertaking national and regional tasks and execute major national and international plans in this area at the behest of national and international institutions. Due to its age and network of alumni, this group plays a central role in this field in the country and will play a constructive role in helping to maintain leadership in the country by assisting and promoting similar groups in the country.  Moreover, the department attempt to admit foreign students to participate in international collaborations in health.   

The members of department believe that their efforts should lead to graduates who are distinguished in their knowledge, expertise, and professional commitment, each of whom in their future workplaces are worthy representatives of this group and an added value to their organization. .   

As an academic institution, stakeholder accountability, the most important of which is the community, is of particular interest to the group and, in order to accept an effective role in promoting community health, considers responding to the scientific needs of the country's health sector through Acceptance and implementation of major national and international projects make this possible. 

Also, the members of the group, including faculty, students and experts, perform their duties as a unified, coordinated and team-based institution, while always respecting, accepting, and accepting individual talents and activities, always committed to the goals and objectives of the group. Know as a single set.

Considering ethical values ​​and observing academic integrity is one of the group's values. Faculty members believe that the behavior of learners and the next generation of experts in their field and their performance moral norms graduate this form and to the observance of professional conduct of the five dimensions of loyalty and accountability, honesty and integrity Fairness and non-abuse of authority, respect, and excellence will be at the heart of the group's activities.

Degree Programs:

• B.Sc in Occupational health and safety engineering
• M.Sc in Occupational health Engineering (Curriculum of M.Sc )
• Ph.D in Occupational health Engineering (Curriculum of Ph.D )