SOM welcomes international members from around the world to support their career needs. Do join here. SOM supports occupational health (OH) development globally through education, awareness raising and sharing of expertise. If you are from a low-income country; a SOM member discount may be available (contact us for details).
SOM international webinars include:
9th December 2025 – Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining webinar. Recording here - Slides #1, #2, #3
11th November 2025 – Heat Stress webinar. Recording here
21st February 2022 - South & Central America - Recording here. Slides here.
14th September 2021 - Occupational Medicine Challenges in South & Central Asia & Russia - Recording here. Slides here.
29th June 2021 - Occupational Health and Medicine in SE and E Asia - Recording here. PDF slides here, here, here.
18th May 2021 - Occupational Health and Medicine in the Middle East - Recording here.
15th Mar 2021 - Occupational Medicine & Health Challenges in Southern Africa - Recording here. PDF slides here, here, and here.
SOM:
- partners with other professional occupational health associations, such as those in Japan, Chile, Zimbabwe, India (IAOH), Australia, and New Zealand (ANZSOM). Examples of training opportunities can be found here.
- supports WHO and ILO and champions delivery of OH via UN member states e.g. see here and here. SOM supports advocacy for UN Sustainable Development Goals: here.
- is a member of UEMS, IOMSC and an associate member of ICOH.
- delivers international Projects including:
- Artisanal and small scale mining - with the support of NEBOSH, and in partnership with IOMSC, SOM is reviewing the occupational health needs of Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (ASM) in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Colombia and Brazil - see here. Artisanal and small-scale mining, or ASM, is a largely informal economic sector who use basic tools to extract everything from gold to gemstones and vital metals, critical to the world’s economies. ASM provides livelihoods for over 45 million people around the world, with tens of millions more people also dependent on the sector. SOM with IOMSC wishes to improve the occupational health of the ASM sector and work in partnership with governments, industry, and artisanal miners themselves to make ASM’s healthier and safer. See this July 2025 review of ASM OH and Safety Concerns (and translated into French here). Read an update on our data collection here. In 2026, SOM will start a new training and research project on ASM in Karnataka, India (funded by NEBOSH and in collaboration with St John’s Medical College). SOM hosts a Mining Special Interest Group – contact us for details. You can watch a SOM webinar on the occupational risks and health impacts of mining here.
- Health of health care workers – In 2024/5, SOM worked with colleagues in Nigeria on a health of health care workers project here. It’s long-term sustainability impact can be read about here. SOM started a new health of healthcare workers project in Ethiopia in 2025 here. Progress and impact of the training can be read here. In November 2025, SOM launched a new health of healthcare workers project at Gweru Hospital, Zimbabwe here.
- OH capacity building with a new project, also funded by NEBOSH in Sri Lanka starting in 2026.
- Protecting the psychological safety of disaster and first responders, a systematic review, funded by the Lloyds Register Foundation.
SOM are also interested in supporting projects on heat stress. Do contact rose.wood@som.org.uk to discuss collaboration and support in your country.
SOM hosts IOMSC, an assembly for leaders of occupational medicine societies to promote greater awareness of issues and best practices for better worker health worldwide. IOMSC is comprises of 52 occupational medicine societies in 46 countries representing more than 30,000 occupational medicine providers that impact more than 1 million workers throughout the world. IOMSC hosted a Thought Leaders’ Summit at the ILO headquarters, Geneva, during the World Health Assembly 2025. It brought together over 50 Chief Medical Officers and professionals to discuss the role of occupational health. The proceedings documents can be found here.
2025 SOM/FOM conference International session - recording here including
- Dr Dominic Young, ANZSOM - OHS issues in Australia - dust diseases, and the response from Occupational Medicine and legislators. Dr Dominic Young is a specialist occupational physician located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. He is President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Occupational Medicine (ANZSOM), a Presiding Member at the Victorian Medical Panels, and a member of the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (AFOEM). Dominic works across a broad range of industries and is accredited by WorkSafe Victoria as an independent medical examiner and an impairment assessor; Comcare as an impairment assessor; and TAC as a joint medical examiner.
- Dr Bobby Joseph - Occupational Health in India - challenges and successes. Dr Joseph is Vice Dean, Community Outreach and Distance Education; Professor, Community Health and Head, Occupational Health Services, St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru (Bangalore) 560034, Karnataka, India.
- Dr Rupali Das, MD, MPH, FACOEM (she/her) - Climate change and OH, focusing on California. Dr Das is Sr. Vice President, California Medical Director Zenith Insurance Company. Dr Richard Heron – International Occupational Medicine Society Collaboration (IOMSC) update. Dr Heron is a former SOM President and currently co-chair of IOMSC.