About the Project

“Capacity Building of Occupational Physicians for the Assessment and Prevention of Psychosocial Risk in Mining Sector” project is supported by the Republic of Türkiye and the European Union. The grant is provided by the EuropeAid - Improving Occupational Health and Safety Grant Scheme (IOHS), carried out under “the Employment, Education and Social Policies Sectoral Operational Programme (EESP SOP)” of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). The Ministry of Labor and Social Security, European Union Financial Assistance Department is the contracting authority. 

The project is named shortly as “Psychosocial Safety at Work: Psychosocial Risk Assessment Project”.

Project number: TREESP1.1OHSMS/P-03/13

The project was conducted by expanding from underground coal mines in the Zonguldak basin to surface lignite mines, primarily in Soma, and then to other types of mines throughout Turkey, as well as 44 different sectors.

An "online education platform" was prepared to train occupational physicians on psychosocial risks in the mining sector and the use of this measurement tool. 1444 users who registered on the "Psychosocial Risk Learning and Development Platform at Work" have completed or are continuing their training. As part of this, 360 occupational physicians completed the Internal Consultant Development Program, and 400 occupational safety experts, 70 workplace nurses, emergency medical technicians, approximately 50 psychologists, clinical psychologists, and organizational psychologists completed the training modules prepared for them.

 As part of the project, a user-friendly "digital application" has been developed as an assessment model and measurement tool for psychosocial risk factors in the mining sector. The "Psychosocial Risks at Work Assessment Application " has been made available to occupational physicians, and 632 users from different sectors are registered in the system, and a total of 8388 employees have been assessed for psychosocial risks. This allows for the identification of working conditions that negatively impact the psychological well-being of employees in our country. 

Additionally, a book and a documentary have been prepared to create widespread awareness about the psychosocial risks experienced by employees who have become disadvantaged due to disabilities resulting from accidents in mines in the Zonguldak basin. The book, titled "They talked: Injuries, disabilities and psychosocial risks related to mining accidents" will be available in print as well as in e-book and audiobook formats. The documentary, titled "Edges," will have its first screenings at the closing meetings on March 16, 2023, at Istanbul Bilgi University and on March 21, 2023, in Zonguldak. 

The findings obtained from all outputs of the project are compiled in a guidebook for the preparation of a future "regulation on managing psychosocial risks." This guidebook will be an important resource for policies, laws, practices, and research on the protection of employees' psychological health in the workplace.