First major study on health and occupational risks among self-employed workers

cp-coset-rsi-191017.pdf

Published on 20 October 2017

For the first time, Santé publique France is launching a large-scale study to assess the health status of self-employed professionals. 300,000 workers are invited to participate through December 31, 2017. The goal is to identify health issues (allergies, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular and respiratory problems, cancers, mental health issues, etc.) linked to occupational characteristics and working conditions in order to help develop prevention recommendations.

Who is included?

Artisans, shopkeepers, self-employed professionals, and assisting spouses. The study will focus on a large sample of working individuals aged 18 to 65 who are covered by the social security system for the self-employed and come from various professions and sectors.

Why this study?

Occupational diseases are numerous and diverse: cancers, hearing disorders, respiratory conditions, etc. The risk factors to which workers are exposed are themselves very numerous and varied in nature. Thus, to better understand the specific characteristics of self-employed professions, Santé publique France is launching a major study, initiated in partnership with the Social Security System for the Self-Employed (RSI).

The study will help identify the occupations and working conditions that impact the health of self-employed workers, whether currently active or retired. Its goal is to help guide and evaluate the prevention of work-related health risks among these professionals.

To account for changes in risk factors over time or the long-term effects of certain hazards, participants are followed for several years by Santé publique France. It is essential to have a large number of participants in order to include a wide variety of professional situations in the analysis.

This voluntary study is conducted via an online questionnaire among 300,000 workers enrolled in the self-employed social security system in 2016. Individuals, selected by random draw, have been receiving invitation letters to participate in the study for several weeks. Data analysis will begin in 2018, and the first results will be available starting in 2019.

The COSET program (Cohorts for Work-Related Epidemiological Surveillance) is a national program for monitoring workers’ health. Two major studies are being launched by Santé publique France: Coset-RSI, focusing on self-employed professions, and Coset-MSA. The latter will be launched at the end of the year and is being conducted in partnership with the Mutualité sociale agricole to monitor workers in the agricultural sector. Monitoring of employees covered by the General Social Security Scheme, which is also part of the program, will be carried out using access to other data.

For more information on the survey: www.coset.fr and www.rsi.fr/coset