5th FOHNEU INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS

Congress Overview
The Federación Española de Enfermería del Trabajo (FEDEET) and the Federation of Occupational Health Nurses within the European Union (FOHNEU) jointly organised the 5th FOHNEU International Congress in Tarragona, Spain, from 19 to 21 September 2012. The Congress was held at the Palacio Ferial y de Congresos de Tarragona and brought together around 175 delegates and speakers from 21 countries, following on from previous FOHNEU Congresses held in Brussels, Strasbourg, Helsinki and London.

In her opening remarks, FOHNEU President Julie Staun described the FOHNEU Congresses as "the thermometer to measure the temperature of the activities of the Federation", and noted that the Federation's successful twinning project had, by 2012, brought Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and the Czech Republic into full membership, while Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey had joined as Observers.

Congress at a Glance

  The scientific programme combined plenary lectures, sponsored sessions, free-paper sessions and a poster exhibition, run in parallel across the Auditorium Augusto and the Medusa Hall. Simultaneous Spanish–English translation was provided throughout, and the Congress activity was accredited with 1.5 continuing-education credits.

 Opening Ceremony and Patronage
The Congress opened on the morning of 19 September in the Auditorium Augusto, with welcome addresses from Gurutze Aguirre (FOHNEU Delegate, representing FEDEET), Julie Staun (President of FOHNEU), Teresa Gené Escoda (President of FEDEET), Dr Antoni Mateu (Director of the Public Health Agency of Catalonia) and the Hon. Josep Félix Ballesteros, Mayor of Tarragona.

The Congress was held under the high patronage of the European Parliament. In a letter to President Staun dated 14 June 2012, European Parliament President Martin Schulz confirmed that patronage had been granted, observing that "health and safety protection contributes to the productivity, performance and welfare of workers" and that the Parliament "encourages a culture of prevention, including health and safety training in schools and at university level addressing young people entering the workforce."

Following the opening addresses, delegates enjoyed a coffee break accompanied by a human-tower ("castellers") performance by Xiquets de Tarragona, sponsored by the Port de Tarragona — a vivid introduction to Catalan culture for the international delegation.

 Main Theme and Topics
The Congress theme, "Embracing the Future – Influencing Change", framed a programme addressing the continuous transition of working life and its impact on health, safety and wellbeing. Core topics included:
• The history, present and future of the Occupational Health Nurse in Spain, and the development of the Occupational Health Nurse Specialist qualification
• Results of the FOHNEU EU-wide survey (2012) on the education, competencies and advanced practice of Occupational Health Nurses
• Work–life balance, drawing on Eurofound's 5th European Working Conditions Survey
• The role of the Occupational Health Nurse during economic crisis and organisational downsizing, and the management of psychosocial risk
• Managing an ageing workforce and extending working life
• Shiftwork and its long-term health effects, including cancer risk
• Accident prevention, disaster management and workplace health promotion
• The mobility of the European workforce from an occupational health and safety perspective

Alongside the plenary and sponsored sessions, the programme included 30 oral communications and around 50 poster presentations submitted by occupational health professionals from across Europe, the United States, Turkey and beyond — by far the largest number of abstracts received for a FOHNEU Congress to date. As President Staun noted in her opening address, submissions had grown from 30 at the Helsinki Congress in 2003, to 53 in London in 2007, and to 75 in Tarragona.

Keynote and Invited Speakers
The scientific programme featured a wide range of keynote and invited speakers, including:
• Dr F. Jesús Álvarez Hidalgo — Principal Administrator, European Commission Unit for Occupational Health, Safety and Inclusion
• Dr Rafael Lletget — Director General, Consejo General de Enfermería (Spanish Nurses' Board)
• Gijsbertus (Gijs) van Houten — Research Officer, Eurofound, Dublin
• Johnni Hansen — Danish Cancer Society, on shiftwork and cancer risk
• Aditya Jain — Nottingham University Business School, on psychosocial risk management
• Su Wang and Juan José Álvarez Sáenz — on the role of the Occupational Health Nurse in accident prevention
• Panayota Sourtzi (University of Athens) and Julie Staun (FOHNEU) — presenting FOHNEU's 2012 survey on OHN education and practice across Europe
• Dr Jukka Takala — Secretary General, International Panel for Working Life, and former Director of EU-OSHA, who delivered the closing lecture on future perspectives in occupational health and safety in the EU

Pre-Congress Tour
Delegates arriving early were able to join a pre-Congress tour to BASF España's Tarragona plant on 18 September, meeting at the Hotel Husa Imperial Tarraco. The visit offered insight into occupational health practice within a major chemical company and complemented the Congress session on disaster management at the workplace, presented by Jordi Pardell, Occupational Health Nurse Specialist at BASF.

Social and Cultural Programme
On the evening of the opening day, delegates took part in a guided tour of Tarragona followed by an official reception, hosted in the historic surroundings of the city. The Gala Dinner was held on the second evening, 20 September, at the Hotel Husa Imperial Tarraco. Both events gave the international delegation a chance to experience Tarragona's Roman heritage and Catalan hospitality alongside their FOHNEU colleagues.

 Closing Ceremony and Awards
The Congress concluded on 21 September with a closing lecture by Dr Jukka Takala on future perspectives in occupational health and safety in the EU, followed by an Awards session recognising outstanding oral and poster presentations. Closing remarks were given by Gurutze Aguirre (FOHNEU representative for FEDEET), Julie Staun (President of FOHNEU) and Teresa Gené Escoda (President of FEDEET), before delegates were sent off with a Farewell Reception.

Programme Booklet

Congress Programme

Opening Ceremony Statement

The Pre Congress Tour to BASF-The Chemical Company in Tarragona.

The Opening Ceremony with, from left to right, Rafael LLetget Aguilar, Director of Training, General Nursing Council of Spain, Julie Staun, President of FOHNEU,
Gurutze Aguirre FOHNEU delegated representative of FEDEET, Spain and
Dr F. Jesus Alvarez Hidalgo, Principal Administrator of the European Commission for Occupational Safety and Inclusion