According to the conclusions of a meeting of experts in prevention and social security, prevention strategies will play an increasingly important for all social security branches, and can have measurable economic benefits for businesses and for social insurance schemes.
"Prevention is not limited to safety and health at the workplace and is part of a broader strategy implemented by the social security systems as a whole to meet various challenges simultaneously , said at the meeting Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo, President of the International Social Security Association (ISSA).
"By taking on the risk factors through prevention, early intervention and other proactive measures, social security can make to individuals and society at large a contribution that goes beyond its traditional payment benefits. Compensation is certainly an integral part of social security, but prevention and rehabilitation are also fundamental, "said Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo.
This international seminar attended by health experts and security officials and managers of social security institutions in over 20 countries, was organized in Geneva by the ISSA and its Committee on Prevention, body issues relating to health and safety at the workplace which includes an international network of eleven committees specialized prevention.
Proactive Strategies for Prevention
Historically, prevention strategies implemented by the social security schemes are focused on health and safety in the workplace. Studies show that accidents and potential losses related to illness and absenteeism can be between 1 and 10 per cent of GDP.
Research also shows that the cost of investing in prevention is relatively low and the proactive measures to promote health in the workplace are reflected, for businesses through reduced illness and increased motivation and innovation, with direct effects on productivity and economic growth.
In recent years, the role of traditional social security schemes, which is to protect individuals against risks linked to the cycle of life, has increasingly expanded to encompass the role of prevention in other areas, "said Olaf Petermann, President of the Special Commission on Prevention of the ISSA.
"The proactive strategies to improve health in the workplace can reduce the number of accidents and have a positive impact on health outcomes, thereby enhancing organizational productivity and directly reducing the burden of the legal systems of social insurance, "he said.
"Return on investment in prevention"
The ISSA has just launched a global research project called "Return on investment in prevention" (Return on Prevention) whose objective is to quantify the economic benefits of investment in health and safety work. According to Walter Eichendorf, Director General of the German social insurance of occupational accidents and occupational diseases, a pilot project involving 39 companies launched in Germany confirms that investment in prevention strategies is relevant and important financial measure.
Jean-Claude Poirier, director of occupational risk, disability and health and welfare to the Regional Health Insurance Fund of Ile de France (CRAMIF), also cited a study showing that companies that implement programs of health promotion and prevention are the rate of work-related absenteeism decline by 12-36 percent. According to this study, a $ 1 investment in such programs yields 2.5 to 4.8 dollars to the company.
Walter Eichendorf admitted however that in many countries, economic difficulties, changes in the workforce and the impact of the economic crisis has intensified pressures to cut budgets for health and security. He called for increased international cooperation to conserve resources and integrate preventive actions in all aspects of social security and workers' compensation insurance.
Prevention in pension schemes and employment
Adriana Lender, Director General of the Swedish social security, stressed that prevention plays an important role in pension arrangements and employment.
"A precautionary approach may allow an individual to have a chance to stay on the job market or to benefit from a healthy retirement," she said.
She recalled that Sweden had increased by disability, occupational diseases and absenteeism at work in ninety years and that the strategy focused on mitigation and risk prevention implementation the social security system had helped to control rising costs.
Ms. Lender has exposed some of the components of this strategy, including promotion of early rehabilitation, improved coordination between medical and social services, an active policy of promotion of return to employment and measures to reduce the risk of growing old in poverty.
Citing another example of preventive strategies, Carlens George, Managing Director of the National Board of Employment, Belgium, described the various policies in the fight against unemployment adopted by the social security system to meet the financial crisis.
According to him, the social security measures and proactive temporary put in place to support workers and allow companies to have some flexibility have avoided an increase structural unemployment. Thus, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that the proactive measures taken in Belgium during the crisis helped to save 60,000 jobs, representing 1.3 per cent of the workforce.
"These measures are costly, but their cost remains lower than the social and economic costs of long-term increase in unemployment", said George Carlens.
The "atomic bomb" of health care
The seminar also examined the potential role of insurance schemes for accidents at work move from a strictly medical approach to a comprehensive public health response to the increasing weight of health care in many countries. The new and emerging risks, including those related to nanotechnology development and psychosocial risks were analyzed, as well as trends in chronic diseases.
Marc de Greef, Director General of PREVENT, the Belgian Institute for the Prevention and Protection of Well-being at work, said that according to World Health Organization (WHO), the prevalence of chronic diseases could increase by 30 percent in 2030, which could represent a true atomic bomb "in terms of health spending and social insurance.
Prevention should target all segments of society
Closing the seminar, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, Secretary General of the ISSA, recalled that the ISSA gave a strong strategic focus on preventive and proactive approaches in social security.
"Prevention must target all segments of society, not just the workplace. We are faced with complex risks and concerns over increasingly acute on chronic diseases and mental. To meet these multiple challenges, a culture change and the adoption of integrated approaches involving different areas are needed. No branch of social security can not neglect prevention, "he said.