5. Health service given to workers

Workers represent half the world’s population and are the major contributors to

economic and social development. Their health is determined not only by workplace

hazards but also by social and individual factors and access to health services.

Despite the availability of effective interventions to prevent occupational hazards and

to protect and promote health at the workplace, large gaps exist between and within

countries with regard to the health status of workers and their exposure to

occupational risks. Still only a small minority of the global workforce has access to

occupational health services.

Increasing international movement of jobs, products and technologies can help to

spread innovative solutions for prevention of occupational hazards, but can also lead

to a shift of that risk to less advantaged groups. The growing informal economy is

often associated with hazardous working conditions and involves such vulnerable

groups as children, pregnant women, older persons and migrant workers. annex

Global Plan of Action on Workers’ Health 2008–2017 Introduction.

The present plan of action deals with all aspects of workers’ health, including primary

prevention of occupational hazards, protection and promotion of health at work,

employment conditions, and a better response from health systems to workers’ health.

It is underpinned by certain common principles. All workers should be able to enjoy

the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and favourable working

conditions. The workplace should not be detrimental to health and wellbeing. Primary

prevention of occupational health hazards should be given priority.

All components of health systems should be involved in an integrated response to the

specific health needs of working populations. The workplace can also serve as a

setting for delivery of other essential public-health interventions, and for health

promotion. Activities related to workers’ health should be planned, implemented and

evaluated with a view to reducing inequalities in workers’ health within and between

countries. Workers and employers and their representatives should also participate in

such activities.

Occupational health practiotioners deal with all aspects of health and safety in the

workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards. The health of the

workers has several determinants, including risk factors at the workplace leading to

cancers, accidents, musculoskeletal diseases, respiratory diseases, hearing loss,

circulatory diseases, stress related disorders and communicable diseases and others.

Employment and working conditions in the formal or informal economy embrace

other important determinants, including, working hours, salary, workplace policies

concerning maternity leave, health promotion and protection provisions, etc.

Occupational health services carries out a lot of jobs. This includes the identification

and assessment of the risks from health hazards in the workplace. This involves

surveillance of the factors in the working environment and working practices which

may affect workers' health. It also requires a systematic approach to the analysis of

occupational "accidents", and occupational diseases. It also involves Advising on

planning and organisation of work and working practices, including the design of

work-places, and on the evaluation, choice and maintenance of equipment and on

substances used at work. In so doing, the adaptation of work to the worker is

promoted.

Occupational health services is also responsible in Providing advice, information,

training and education, on occupational health, safety and hygiene and

on ergonomics and protective equipment, surveillance of workers' health in relation to

work, contributing to occupational rehabilitation and maintaining in employment

people of working age, or assisting in the return to employment of those who are

unemployed for reasons of ill health or disability, and organising first aid and

emergency treatment. To understand it clearly, the stepwise elaboration of the

direction and what has to be done in accomplishing the mission is made below.

Step one is to understand the occupational history. This includes the introduction to

the jobfield, taking the history of the health issues related to the work, individual

exposure and the interpretation of the comprehensive findings.

Step two is to study deeper about the work related diseases. In this step, the size of the

problem should be determined. Diseases should be considered by mode of

presentation, for example skin rashes, shortness of breath, other respiratory 

symptoms, pain and limitation of movement in the muscular system, hearing loss,

itchy and sore eyes, blocked and itchy noses, headaches, weakness, sensory

symptoms, symptoms of stress, and other presentations.

Step three includes the investigation of occupational disease. This includes

introduction of the specific diseases, strategy, clinical which is done by various

approaches. Besides all of the above, the work place investigation should be centred

arounf the index case, and the solution of how to go about it should be made. In

addition, other special investigations including some aspects of assessment of

personal uptake, epidemiologic investigation, study designs, investigation beyond the

index case, determining causation should also be performed.

Step four is the management of occupational disease which includes medical

management of common or important conditions, respiratory, skin, poisonings, burns,

physical agents, etc. The management also includes the convenience of reporting the

incidence and requesting compensation.

Step five includes assessing risks of work related disease and injury. This process

involves identification of the hazards and assessment of the risks, ergonomics, 

occupational hygiene, strategy and tactics of measurement, aspects of health

surveillance, formulating reports, etc.

Reducing risks of occupationan disease and preventing them is also one of the things

that needs to be done. This includes Introduction, organisational change, education,

hierarchy of elimination, substitution, segregation / containment, local exhaust

ventilation, personal protective equipment, change in work practices. Other measures

such as vaccination, the role of selection etc which concludes step six.

Step seven is to get a deeper understanding regarding the work and the general

environment including the contribution of work to environmental pollution and risks

of human health, risk reduction in the work place reducing risks in the general

environment, risk reduction in the work lace at the expense of the general

environments, developing balanced strategies, clinical implications and relevant

eventual diagnosis.

Step eight is dealing with the sickness absence. This includes introduction, statistics in

disease, taxonomy, contributory factors, management, medical and non medical

requirements, and benefits.

Step nine includes the introduction of ability and rehabilitation, fitness for work,

assessment of worker and of work, policy at commencement of employment, policy in

rehabilitation in employment, relocation, retirement, benefits.

Step ten is to promote workplace health which involvesthe introduction to importance

of occupational health in which hygine in the workplace needs to assessed routinely.

It is in this step that opportunistics diseases including infection is explained. In

addition, the workers are also informed about healthy lifestyle and its contrary like

alcohol, substances, tobacco, etc.

Step eleven is the delivery of the occupational health. In this last step, the

responsibility of managers and employees needs to come into terms. This step also

includes the role of occupational health services and practitioners, occupational health

and safety services, quality and audit, communication, ethics. Role of primary care

and other services. Everything should meet the standard implications at a

governmental and european level.