Summary of 1984 conference

The First International Conference on Injuries in the Workplace was held in New York City, 1984. That conference was sponsored, as is the present conference, by the Occupational and Industrial Orthopaedic Center of the Hospital for Joint Diseases Orthopaedic Institute and The World Rehabilitation Fund; and co-sponsored by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization. The first conference established that there is a need in each industry for a multidiscipli-nary approach to the prevention of musculoskeletal workplace injuries and rehabilitation of the injured worker. To date, of those industries that have a prevention programme at all, only a few use a multidisciplinary approach. Prevention, if approached, and rehabilitation of the worker are often pursued in a fragmented and inefficient way. The workplace offers an exceptional opportunity to study, prevent and manage musculoskeletal workplace injuries. It is also the site where we are able to promote and educate a healthy and ec...