Occupational Health Flashcards
What should be asked in an occupational history?
- Do you work?
- What do you do?
- What does it actually involve you doing?
- What jobs have you done in the pase?
- Other jobs and hobbies?
Give examples of physical occupational hazards.
- Noise
- Vibration
- Radiation
- Manual handling
- Slips, trips, falls
- Environment
- Dust
- Sharp objects
- Flying objects
- Fumes
- Fire, electrical
Give examples of chemical hazards in the workplace.
- Gas - such as chlorine or CO.
- Liquid - such as degreasing solvent or cleaning chemicals.
- Spray or mist - such as paint and epoxy sprays and acid mists.
- Fumes - such as welding, hot rubber, soldering, galvanising fumes.
- Vapour - such as solvent vapour released fro adhesives, paints or inks.
- Dust, powder or paste - such as wood, cement, metal, flour, grain, rubber or stone dust.
- These affect almost any body system and therefore cause a wide variety of illness.
Which occupations put a patient at high risk of a biological health problem?
- Bugs!
- Healthcare workers
- Farmers. vets, abbatoir workers
- Sewage workers
- Laboratory workers
- Foresters
What are the factors which influence psychological illness resulting from occupation?
- Demands
- Control
- Support
- Role
- Relationships
- Change
What factors help to control workplace hazards?
- Risk assessment as a legal requirement.
- Reduces the risk of work-related ill health to workers.
- Healthy and Safety at Work Act, COSHH etc.
- Lots of other hazard specific legislation. For example:
- Asbestos
- Lead
- Ionising Radiation
- Vibration
What effect does work have on health?
- (Good) work is good for health.
- Promotes recovery
- Aids rehabilitation
- Better helath outcomes
- Improves QOL and wellbeing
- Reduces social exclusion and promotes equality
- Minimises harmful, mental, physical and social consequences of long term worklessness
What effect does worklessness have on health?
- Worklessness is bad for health
- Higher consultation, hospital admission and prescription rates.
- 2-3x increased risk of poorer general health.
- 2-3x increased risk or worse mental health.
- 20% excess mortality.
- 6x increased risk of suicide.
What is the role of the healthcare professional in assessing fitness for work?
- Key role in advising patients about (return to) work.
- Help patients develop a return-to-work lan in sensitive conversation.
- Facilitate return to work through communication with patients…
- … So that they can communicate effectively with employers.
What aspects of the person must you take into account when assessing the fitness of a patient for work?
- Stamina
- Mobility - walking, bending, stooping
- Agility - dexterity, posture and coordination
- Rational - mental state, mood
- Treatment - side-effects, duration of
- Intellectual - cognitive abilities
- Essential for job - food handlers, driving (e.g. DVLA)
- Sensory aspects - safely (self and others)
What aspects of the job must you take into account when assessing the fitness of a patient for work?
- Demands of the job - physical, intellectual
- Environment - shop floor / office, risk factors (e.g. dust, chemicals)
- Temporal - shift working, early start
- Travel - business travel (between sites, overseas)
- Organisational - lone-working, customers
- Layout - ergonomic aspects of workstation, work equipment
What advice should you offer workplaces to help facilitate sick employees’ return to work?
- Visit - encourage the patient to keep in touch with work.
- Allow reduced hours - half days.
- Change the pattern of work / shifts - put on days, return mid-week.
- Change tasks or work content - rehab ladder.
- Adapt the workplace - alter layout.
- Reduce the pace of work - frequent or longer breaks.
- Adapt workplace & equipment - large diameter handles.
- Provide for mobility and transpot - parking, lifts.
- Paying for treatment and investigations.
- Access to work and occupational health services.
