Tutorial 3 - Occupational Health, Environmental Health and Sustainability in Primary Care Flashcards
What does a full occupational history require?
- description of present and previous jobs
- identification of any exposure to chemicals or hazards
- did symptoms improve when not exposed?
- determine duration and intensity of the exposure
- is personal protection used?
- what maintenance is in place for the protective measures? i.e. are they always in place?
- do others suffer similar symptoms?
- are there known environmental hazards?
- any hobbies, pets, travel, moonlighting?
What are 6 examples of occupational conditions?
- MSK issues eg. back pain
- occupational dermatitis
- psychological illness e.g. stress, anxiety
- asthma
- mesothelioma
- trauma
What are 4 fields of hazards?
- chemical
- biological
- physical
- psychological
What are examples of conditions caused by chemical hazards?
- dermatitis
- alcoholism
What are examples of conditions caused by biological hazards?
exposure
What are examples of conditions caused by physical hazards?
- needle stick
- noise
- trauma
What are examples of psychological conditions caused by psychological hazards?
- stress
- depression
- exhaustion
What is a fit note?
- deciding if a patient is fit to work or whether they need signed off by the doctor
- advice to patients as employees, is not binding to the employer and does not affect statutory sick pay
When is a fit note required?
if the patient has been off for more than 7 consecutive days
How can we modify health related travel to have an impact on global health and personal health?
- reducing need to travel e.g. by teleconferencing or switching to local food suppliers for hospitals
- have better ways to travel e.g. car share
- incentivise active travel e.g. reduce number free car spaces, health boards to consider reimbursement for travel
What is sustainability?
a measure of maintaining long term viability for the whole ecosystem and looking after what we have now for future generations
What actions are required for sustainability?
- increase use of renewable energy resources
- modifying human behaviour e.g. be more active
- move yo plane based diet
- educate on carbon literacy and numeracy
- promote patient resilience
- educate healthcare students about looking after wider ecosystem
- teaching effective prescribing
How can we improve global health through food production and consumption at an individual level?
- grow own food
- shop locally
- buy fewer processed foods
- eat mainly plants
- eat meat in moderation
- avoid bottled water
- cook as hobby
How can we improve global health through food production and consumption at GP level?
- detect patients at risk of food related illness
- include diet in history
- advise on specific diets
- understad glycemic index concepts
- utilise eat well plate
How can we improve global health through food production and consumption at a public health/ policy level?
- nutritional labelling
- label carbon cost
- ban trans fats
- restrict advertising of unhealthy foods
- pressure major food retailers to encourage local produce
- make food central component of healthcare education
