Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

Nature of Vocational Managing

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3
Occupational Rehabilitation Occupational
Health Health

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Nature of Occupational Health

Categories of
Occupational
Occupational Sources of
Health and
Health Information
Public Health
Hazard

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Categories of Occupational Health Hazards
Physical Psycho- Ergonomi
Chemical Biological
(IB6,7, Social c
(IB1-4) (IB5)
10) (IB8) (IB9)

Dust Noise Bacteria

Stress Posture
Heat Fungi
Fibres
Radiation Parasites
Work
Gases and Violence
Layout
Vapours Vibration Viruses

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Information on Occupational Ill-Health
Internal Sources External Sources
• Reports on ill-health, • Any external occupational health
accidents or by workers service provider
• Worker’s general practitioner (GP, i.e.
• Return to work interviews doctor)
and records • Public advisory services
• Absence data • UK sources
• Health surveillance results o IOSH
o Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
• Reports and investigations of • US sources
safety representatives and o OSHA
safety committess. o Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
• WHO Statistics

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

Link between Public Health and Occupational

Health
• Public Health and Occupational Health have to
work hand-in-hand due to emerging health
issues.
• Providing information and guidance to prevent
the spread of health hazards such as biological
agents, both in public and work environment.
• E.g. SARS and H1n1 virus

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Vocational Rehabilitation

What is Benefits of
Bio-
Vocational Vocational
Psychosocial
Rehabilitatio Rehabilitatio
Model
n n

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

What is Vocational Rehabilitation?

• Vocational rehabilitation is concerned with
helping someone with a health problem stay,
return or remain at work.
• Focus of vocational rehabilitation is to retain or
regain the ability to participate in work, rather
than treat any illness or injury itself.
• Vocational rehabilitation has been proven to
provide economic benefits for the organisation,
as well as physical and mental health benefits.
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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
What is Vocational Rehabilitation?
• According to UK report for Department for Work
and Pensions (DWP), work generally;
o Makes people healthier
o Helps people with a health condition healthier
o Improves the health of people returning to work from
unemployment
o Long-term unemployment are more likely to have poor
health than those with work
o Unemployed are twice as likely to become
psychologically distressed after becoming unemployed.
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 Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Benefits of Vocational Rehabilitation
Employer Benefits Employee Benefits
• Simple measures to prevent and • Better physical health
manage ill-health can lead to a • Better mental health
decrease in employee absence, • Increased financial security
which can improve productivity.
• Healthy working environment
can reduce employee absence
through sickness and stress.
• Reduced cost of getting and
training new employees
• Improved image for organisation

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

The Bio-Psychosocial Model

• Ill-health does not only originate from a specific
disease, but also from the development of
chronic problems and incapacity on psychosocial
factors.
• It is recognised by the WHO International
Classification of Functioning, Disability and
Health, as a framework for disability and
rehabilitation.

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

The Bio-Psychosocial Model

Biologi Psychol
cal ogical
Social
●
Physical Personal /
●
Social context,
●

psychological pressures and

and mental factors
influencing his /
constraints on
health her behaviour to behaviour and
condition responsibility functioning
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 Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

The Bio-Psychosocial Model

Image Credits Image Credits

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da9d7503ba964f3fc689b0bd75971.jpg c-biopsychosocial-model2.jpg

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Possible Barriers of Bio-Psychosocial Model

Anxiety / Impaired mobility

Biological MSK Diseases Depression / senses

Phobia of returning of
Psychological work
Anxious about future

Social Working environment

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 Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Managing Occupational Health

Function Compete Collectio

Roles and Health
What is of a nce n and
Benefits Assessm
Occupati Typical within Use of
of ent and
onal Occupatio Occupati Sickness
Occupatio Health
Health nal Health onal Absence
nal Health Survey
Service Health Data

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

What is Occupational Health?

• According to ILO and WHO, Occupational Health
is defined as;
“Occupational Health is 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 the adaptation of work to
people, and people to their jobs. ”

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

What is Occupational Health?

• It is therefore, can be said that, occupational
health is the effects of the working environment
on the health of the worker, and also the
influence of the worker’s state of health on their
ability to perform workplace tasks.
• Occupational health is concerned with the
promotion and maintenance of the highest
degree of physical, mental and social well-being
of workers in all occupations.
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 Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

Stages in Occupational Health and Hygiene

Practice

●
Identifying those factors that can cause harm

Recognition

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

What is Occupational Health Services?

• Services provided which essentially serves as
preventive functions and responsible for
advising the employer, the workers and their
representatives in the undertaking, on the
requirements for establishing and maintaining
a safe and healthy working environment.
• Anticipate and prevent health problems
caused by work.
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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

Benefits of Occupational Health Services

• Compliance with national health and safety legislation
• Early identification of work-related health hazards, for
evaluation and control
• Reduction in absence rates and number of lost days
through ill-health or accidents
• Improved management of rehabilitation / return to
work processes, minimising of work-related ill-health.
• Reduction in ill-health compensation claims

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Make Up of a
Typical Occupational Health Service
Occupational
Health Service

Hygienist

Doctor and
Technicians
Nurses

Physicians

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Functions of a
Typical Occupational Health Service
Preliminary Surveillance of Informing the employers,
management and workers
orientation to the working about occupational health
the enterprise environment hazards

Initiating for
Assessment Surveillance of
preventing and
of health risks workers’ health control measures

First aid services Occupational

Advisory and emergency
healthcare, general
preventative and
role preparedness
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curative services
Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Typical Services Provided by an Occupational Health Service
• Pre-employment screening
• Medical and health surveillance
• Return to work rehabilitation programmes
• Sickness absence management
• Counseling
• Risk Assessments (Specifics – Pregnant Workers)
• Health education and promotion
• Providing advice
• Treatment services and first aid
• Management of infectious diseases
• Immunity assessment and vaccination
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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

When recruiting new workers, occupational

health department may be involved in
carrying out:
• Medical screening to ensure applicants are fit,
capable of carrying out the job
• Vision test for DSE users, drivers.
• Drug and alcohol abuse

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

When workers are returning to work,

occupational health department may be
involved in carrying out:
• Medical screening to ensure workers are fit,
capable of carrying out the job
• Advising to management where necessary
• Identifying any restrictions
• Provision of ongoing medical care, monitoring

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

Competence within Occupational Health

• Any organisation appointing health officials
must be competent in their role, and
recognised by national standard.
• Certain health officials such as technicians
may require special competencies such as
hand-arm vibration syndrome, noise-induced
hearing loss, etc.

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

General Health Assessment Health Surveillance

Any form of medical
assessment that determines
the general state of health or
fitness of an individual. Carried
out by:
• Occupational health doctor
and nurse
• Self-assessment
• Certain job requirements
may require specialists such
as eye exam for drivers.
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More specific assessment of a
worker’s medical fitness that
focuses on one aspect in
relation to one hazard.
• For example, conducting a
health surveillance on an
individual’s hearing, who
has been working in a noisy
construction environment,
to see if there are any
noise-induced hearing loss.
Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Legal Requirements
Health Records
Contains health surveillance
records of each employee.
Important for:
• Record of potentially
hazardous jobs
• Record of outcome of
health surveillance
• Information for inspectors
to show health surveillance
has been out.
Medical Records
• Include medical information
arising from clinical
examination.
• Contains clinical information
that is legally and ethically
confidential between the
individual concerned and
their clinic.

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health
Legal Requirements
Health Records
• Have to retained for as long as the employee
is under health surveillance.
• In the UK, records can be retained up to 40
years, possibly due to slow-onset of diseases,
which will assist with the civil defense of civil
claims for illness or injury.

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

Collection and Use of Sickness Absence Data

• Knowing which employees are on sick-leave
can identify;
o Patterns and high-level causes of short/long term
sickness absence
o Work-related / other causes of absence
o Plan cover for absence
o The benchmark for the organisation’s
performance.

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Unit IB11 : Managing Occupational Health

Collection and Use of Sickness Absence Data

• Occupational health departments are often
involved in the first-hand collection of absence
data by:
o Contacting employees on the first day of absence
o Receiving absence note
o Home visits with the ill employee
o Identifying cause of ill-health

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