This year’s American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC 2026), held in Chicago from April 19 to April 22, belied its name and brought a much broader perspective to the field of occupational health. While core tracks still covered the major topics for occupational health providers in the United States, there was an equal emphasis on global occupational health challenges and how these issues affect the opportunity to support and grow healthy workers around the world as we become more interconnected through globalization of business, technology, and climate change.
A Focus on Global Worker Health
From the late 19th century origins of today’s practice of occupational health in the alpine tunnels of Switzerland, France, and Italy, to the continuing need for greater protections for artisanal miners in South America and Africa, AOHC 2026 embraced a global perspective. Collaboration between the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), the International Occupational Medical Society Collaborative (IOMSC), the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) have elevated both the conversation and the work being done to protect worker health and safety.
For Dr. Laura Gilles, President of ACOEM, the globalization of occupational medicine arises from interconnected supply chains, international corporations, and the risks to worker health that exist across boundaries and are intensified through migration and climate change. “We need to collaborate to create standards, initiatives, and conduct research,” she shared during the Global OEM Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Priorities panel at AOHC 2926. In the absence of a global understanding and equality of access to occupational health resources, the gap between the Global North and the Global South will only continue to grow with dire consequences for all.
Technology and Occupational Health
The role technology plays in the practice of occupational health was another principle topic of panels and conversation at AOCH 2026. It should come as no surprise that AI was top of mind for practitioners and administrators. From shadow AI tools creating security vulnerabilities and governance challenges, to ambient scribes improving patient interactions and reducing pajama time for clinicians, it’s clear that AI is already having a big impact on occupational health.
However, AI and other technologies are also creating worker health challenges that need to be factored into occupational health tools and practices. An increasing number of studies are showing that AI is a major factor in the decline of worker mental health caused by eroding trust in employee-employer relationships and increasing anxiety over tenure, financial survivability, and more as automation and agentic AI upend the very nature of work.
To this end, AI and worker mental health will be a focus of this year’s IOMSC Thought Leadership Summit to be held in Geneva, Switzerland in May 2026.
What Comes Next in Occupational Health
First up, you’ll see a lot more content on Future Healthcare Today from AOHC 2026. We’ll be bringing stories from the conference to our readers, Then, we’ll be publishing the results of our state of the industry survey – if you haven’t taken it yet, click here. And then, it will be time to share coverage of AAOHN 2026 and the IOMSC Thought Leadership Summit in Geneva.
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