IMSS’ Social Arm Offers an Integral Approach to Well-Being

Q: IMSS, through its Directorate of Economic and Social Benefits, seeks to be a promoter of well-being. How are current efforts aligning to this goal?

A: The Directorate of Economic and Social Benefits aims to accompany IMSS’ rights holders throughout their life. For example, the direction would provide care throughout a woman’s pregnancy, manage their maternity leave, the baby’s birth and provide childcare so the mother can return to work. IMSS also provides paternity leave as fathers should also be present and share the responsibility of looking after a newborn.

The directorate is also in charge of the Coordination of Social Well-Being, which is in charge of the sport, cultural and health promotion centers available to rights holders and their families. This coordination offers an integral approach to workers. For example, it offers a variety of recreational activities that allow people to use their free time in a fun, healthy way.

Making use of digital solutions, the directorate also offers the CLIMSS training platform, which offers courses to promote the safe return to in-person work and other aspects of the new normal.

The directorate also manages vacation center services to offer facilities at accessible prices to the general population. These centers have also been used to organize recreational and sport activities thanks to their robust infrastructure. During the pandemic, two of these centers were turned into COVID-19 shelters and hosted frontline workers that had someone vulnerable at home. Following the integral life cycle approach, the directorate also offers funeral services at accessible prices.

Q: What initiatives is the directorate deploying to enhance workplace safety?

A: We oversee the Coordination of Health in the Workspace department, which is responsible for occupational safety and develops programs to reintegrate workers after a disease, accident or other issue. This department is also in charge of long or permanent leave of absence related to work risks. Within this department there is the Coordination of Economic Benefits, which is in charge of pension payments for workers and retirees.

Q: What efforts is this directorate taking to promote preventive health among the population?

A: IMSS’ 123 security centers focus on prevention and promotion of healthcare. Well-being requires more than care; it also requires physical and recreational activities. It is essential to the institution to offer services and classes on health promotion and prevention to the general population, so these programs are accessible to everyone despite their shareholder status.

IMSS recently implemented the Safe and Healthy Work Environments Program (ELSSA), which was created after we identified certain vulnerabilities among workers during the pandemic. Many workers have chronic diseases or other conditions that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19. These individuals represent almost half of the working population. To respond to this problem, IMSS developed ELSSA to transform the working environment by offering virtual training activities, deploying preventive strategies within companies, offering spaces for workers to exercise or stretch, identifying working risks and even changing the offered meals and drinks for healthier options.

Mexico is at a critical moment to resume regular care provision, which was interrupted during the pandemic. The lack of preventive and follow-up services will likely continue affecting the population if institutions do not act quickly. There is a great diagnostics gap for some of Mexico’s largest disease burdens and many patients are likely to suffer from long-COVID-19 or other COVID-19 variations. For example, adults who recovered from a severe case of COVID-19 are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s.

Q: How is IMSS taking care of its workforce, considering recent challenges it has faced since the COVID-19 pandemic?

A: The Directorate of Medical Benefits has addressed this problem from the first months of the pandemic through an approach that began with mental healthcare specifically directed at IMSS workers. The institute has been in constant contact with workers through different outlets to share information about the services they can access if they feel overwhelmed.

The Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) is a decentralized body of the Mexican federal government, attached to the Ministry of Health and dedicated to providing health and social security services to its affiliated population.