Since the moment of its establishment in 1923, the Institute is developing preventive direction of the domestic medicine, being the scientific and methodical center of the country for the comprehensive study of the impact of occupational and work related factors on the health of workers and the development of science-based ways of improvement of working conditions in order to preserve and promote the health of employees.
The Institute actively participates in international activities and, being WHO Collaborating Center until 2008, is defined as the National contact point on occupational health’ issues in the Russian Federation and is a part of the world network of research institutions collaborating with WHO.
Among the most important achievements of the Institute in recent years it should be noted:
- creation and development of a new scientific direction in Russia – occupational health – integrated to the sphere of preventive and practical medicine
- perfection of methodology of hygienic rationing, taking into consideration combined effect of industrial environment factors
- basis of criteria and classification of working conditions
- development of methodology for the assessment and occupational risk management; creation of models for assessing and forecasting occupational risks when exposed to different factors of the working environment and labor process
- development of legislative, normative and methodological base for occupational health
- development of differentiated and pathogenically justified schemes of comprehensive prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation in occupational and work-related diseases
- justification of the principles of evidence-based medicine in the context of the occupational health tasks
- approval of the Concept of state policy implementation, (order of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 28, 2013), aimed at the elimination of diseases associated with exposure to asbestos-containing dust for the period to 2020 and beyond and the Plan of measures for the implementation of the Concept
The carried out research work served the basis for the development of the Concept of the national system of occupational health. The Institute developed the Concept and the National plan on the implementation of state policy, aimed at maintaining the health of the working population of Russia for the period up to 2020 and further perspective with the participation of the Russian Academy of Sciences and other interested organizations. The Russian Federation National profile for the workers’ health protection was developed.