Aging and work in Italy : Under the project Epsilon - European Partnership for preventions and Social Innovation through training and science, founded under the operational program Human Resources Development

Aging is the one of the most relevant phenomenon affecting nowadays the population of the economically developed countries, including Europe, but the same concept of "aged worker" can have several different meanings depending on the context. In ltaly, the elderly workers pose specific problems, due to the reduction of fitness tor specific jobs and the increase in the presence of chronic diseases. The health of elderly is in charge of the ltalian National Health Care System (INHS), but the specific health problems of the elderly are dealt also at the workplace both during the usual activities of health surveillance of workers and through specific health promotion programs not always developed. In Italy, for example, several companies, under the guidance of their occupational physicians, carry out such programs, even though very seldom they are specifically targeted at aging. More often specific age related actions are part of a broader health surveillance activity addressed at work related disorders, cancer prevention or lifestyle improvement. Available data demonstrate that several jobs well suit for aged workers. Therefore, creating sound occupational options for the elderly who, for their experience, knowledge and capacity are a fundamental resource, is an important task for occupational medicine, together with the development of training and educational activities addressed at promoting their resilience.