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EDUCATION ON OCCUPATIONAL RISK PREVENTION (PRL) IN UNIVERSITY HEALTH AND ENGINEERING PROGRAMS IN IBERO-AMERICA
Objective. To describe the state of occupational risk prevention (ORP) training in the curricula of university programs in health sciences and engineering in Latin America. Methodology. A descriptive study, based on a literature review conducted between 2020 and 2026, consulting databases such as ScienceDirect and Google Scholar, using Boolean terms that combined the themes of occupational risk prevention, higher education, university curriculum, and the Latin American context, in both Spanish and English, as well as reports from national and international organizations. Results. Occupational risk prevention (ORP) training within health and engineering programs in Latin America reveals a tension between the importance of regulations and inconsistent curriculum planning. Methodologically, expository approaches focused on regulations predominate, rather than active strategies such as problem-based learning or simulation. Structural gaps were identified: the lack of regulations mandating specific graduate competencies, the absence of ORP indicators in accreditation systems, and limited teacher training in the subject. Although Brazil and Colombia are presented as examples of countries responding with legal regulations (SG-SST), this remains insufficient. Despite promising isolated experiences (socio-formative model, applied neuroscience, pilot programs in Chile and Peru), the conclusion is that occupational risk prevention (ORP) in Latin America depends more on institutional will and national regulatory contexts than on an articulated regional policy. Coordinated action among ministries, accrediting bodies, and international organizations is required to overcome the current reactive approach. In conclusion, despite the widespread reporting of workplace accidents, ORP is often relegated to elective, cross-curricular, non-assessable content in university curricula or confined to field practices without prior training.
