Original Articles
5 March 2025
Vol. 38 No. 1 (2016)
https://doi.org/10.4081/gimle.647

[The role of the occupational physician in the assessment and management of risks related to night work in the light of national and EU regulations]

Il ruolo del medico del lavoro nella valutazione e nella gestione dei rischi correlati al lavoro notturno alla luce della disciplina nazionale e comunitaria

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Nicola Mucci
nicola.mucci@unifi.it
Health Services Research, Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Università degli Studi di Firenze; Medicina del Lavoro, Istituto di Sanità Pubblica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Gabriele Giorgi
Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università Europea di Roma, Rome, Italy.
Irene Margherita Gonnelli
Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Sergio Garbarino
Medicina del Lavoro, Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Genova; Servizio Sanitario della Polizia di Stato, Ministero dell’Interno, Rome, Italy.
Giulio Arcangeli
Health Services Research, Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Università degli Studi di Firenze; Medicina del Lavoro, Istituto di Sanità Pubblica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Vincenzo Cupelli
Health Services Research, Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Università degli Studi di Firenze; Medicina del Lavoro, Istituto di Sanità Pubblica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.

The operational role of the occupational health physician in the assessment and management of health risks related to night work. Night work, in the last 30-40 years, has been extended to almost all areas of employment. The potential effects on workers' health - related to the disruption of circadian rhythms - are now well defined and studied in the Literature. All issues about the protection of safety and health for night workers are governed by the Italian Legislative Decree no. 66/2003 and subsequent amendments. The management of night work hasn't been included into the main Law on Occupational Safety and Health (Italian Legislative Decree no. 81/2008 and subsequent amendments) and a coordination between the two disciplines is desirable. The occupational health physician, as a global consultant for the protection of all health issues into a company, has to evaluate the potential effects of night work on health, both individually and as a group of workers. In this way, the physician may use either traditional tools (history, physical examination, blood tests) or innovative tools (questionnaires, health promotion programs, interventions on shift schedules). In the management of night work is useful to employ schedules that respect both psycho-physical integrity and social welfare of workers and the needs of the production. The occupational health physician plays a significant role in information and training of workers, both individually and as a group of workers, and in the organization of health promotion programs (whit a voluntary participation by the workers).

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How to Cite



[The role of the occupational physician in the assessment and management of risks related to night work in the light of national and EU regulations]: Il ruolo del medico del lavoro nella valutazione e nella gestione dei rischi correlati al lavoro notturno alla luce della disciplina nazionale e comunitaria. (2025). Giornale Italiano Di Medicina Del Lavoro Ed Ergonomia, 38(1), 22-29. https://doi.org/10.4081/gimle.647
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