B1.1 - Nature of Occupational Health Flashcards
Defined Occupational Health
the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations by preventing departures from health, controlling risks and adapting work to people and people to their jobs.
A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
Well being term is linked to
feelings of happiness, fulfilment and satisfaction. However this term may conflict with between health in the basis that some people may feel happy and fulfilled by doing something that is unhealthy i.e drinking alcohol or smoking
Occupational health hazards can be classified into five categories
Chemical - Dusts, fibres, vapours, etc
Physical - Noise, Vibration, radiation, heat etc
Biological - Bacteria, fungus, virus, human endoparasitis
Psycho-social - stress, substance misuse, violence at work
Ergonomic - Posture, workplace layout
Work related ll-health is far more
than work related injury. Ill health hazards accounts for thousands of deaths an example would be exposure to asbestos. Other ill health hazards released by HSE is Musculoskeletal diseases, stress, hearing problems
HSE collects ill health stats from
RIDDOR - reporting of specific OCC diseases
Labour Force Survey - managed by ONS (office of National statistics
THOR (the health & Occupation reporting) network - based on information provided by GP’s
The Industrial Injuries Scheme - managed by department for work pensions
Death Certificates - source of information on deaths linked to exposure to Occupational diseases such as Asbestos
