Aging and Work

Improvements in health care and quality of life in recent years have led to a marked aging of the world's population, especially in well-developed regions. In the near future, this problem will spread to developing countries. The growing need to promote the health and function of aging workers presents new challenges as well as new opportunities.

This book examine methods for diagnosing and evaluating work ability/employability in response to the changing capacity of employment. Derived from a Conference on Aging and Work, held in Japan in September 2001, the book examines issues addressed by occupational health professionals to improve the work ability of elderly employees, and discusses measures to promote their employment. Aging and Work will be of particular interest to professionals and students in the fields of occupational health, ergonomics, mechanical engineering, work physiology and industrial psychology.

Masaharu Kumashiro is Professor and Head of the Department of Ergonomics at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan. He is President of the Pan-Pacific Council of Occupational Ergonomics, President of the Society for Occupational Safety, Health and Ergonomics, Chair if the IEA Technical Committee for Safety and Health, and also Fellow of the Ergonomics Society. He has been a world leader in establishing the study of ergonomics within the field of occupational health, and plays the central role in the global network of researchers involved in Aging and Work