SOM and COHPA are once again joining forces to promote occupational health to a broader audience through Occupational Health Awareness Week 2023, which will run from 18-24th September.

The focus of this year’s OHAW will be providing resources for the OH sector to better engage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who are 5 times less likely to have OH support than large businesses. Our aim is to support the OH sector to better inform SMEs of the role and value of occupational health.

SOM and COHPA will both be launching new pages on their websites for SME audiences. SOM is producing a 15-minute film that introduces OH to SMEs, while COHPA is publishing a new Guide to OH for SMEs. These resources will be available for all in the OH sector to use, distribute and share, and will be tailored to an audience of SME business owners, managers and HR leads. SOM and COHPA will also be launching a new short-film (2-mins) to promote OH to SMEs, which will be promoted on social media via a digital marketing campaign.

Another aspect of this year’s OHAW will be training and recruitment, with a 5-part blog series focused on driving the pipeline of human resources in occupational health.

Events and activities in and around OHAW include:

Last year there was a significant buzz on social media during OHAW and we would encourage all SOM and COHPA members to join the conversation again this year on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. The hashtags this year will be #ohaw2023 and #occupationalhealthawareness, and a suggested content calendar and graphics will be circulated in advance of OHAW.