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
What is the ultimate goal in the NHS Sustainability Development Unit’s Strategy Document?
low carbon clinical care to:
- be better at preventing conditions
- give greater responsibility to patients in managing their health
- be leaner in service design and delivery
- use the lowest carbon technologies
What is ‘susceptibility’?
the quality or state of being susceptible means to be predisposed to, sensitive to, or lacking the ability to resist something
What factors can make someone ‘susceptible’? (9)
- age
- occupation
- lifestyle
- genetics
- gender
- knowledge
- past medical history
- personality
- nutrition
