The global environment surrounding work and daily life is undergoing significant change. In addition to maintaining physical and mental health, the ability to seek help when needed and to continue working while adapting to environmental changes has become increasingly important for individual well-being.
We define well-being not merely as the absence of disease, but as a state in which individuals can engage in their daily lives, work, and studies in a meaningful, fulfilling and true to themselves.
Our division plans and promotes research activities aimed at supporting the well-being of working and studying populations, focusing on the following areas:
- Epidemiological studies using large-scale medical and health checkup data to examine the associations between environmental factors, therapeutic interventions, and disease risk
- Research on employment among older workers in a super-aging society, supporting the concept of “living longer and working longer”
- Advanced research on heat-related illness in Japan, where heat exposure has become an increasingly serious concern
- Research on help-seeking behaviors, focusing on enabling individuals to say “I need help”
- Research on mental health and adaptation among international students
The foundation of occupational health lies in appropriately managing three core components: work environment management, which is closely related to environmental medicine and organic and inorganic chemistry; work management, which is associated with ergonomics; and health management, which is linked to life sciences and clinical medicine. These components are not independent, but have evolved through close interaction with diverse academic fields such as safety science, informatics, and clinical psychology.
