Occupational Health And Safety Introduction PDF

KAAF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE FACULTY OF HEALTH AND ALLIED SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING COURSE: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY LECTURER: D.A.A  TOPIC INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of the presentation, the student...

KAAF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE FACULTY OF HEALTH AND ALLIED SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING COURSE: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY LECTURER: D.A.A  TOPIC INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of the presentation, the student will be able to:  Define occupational health (OH)  State the objectives as well as functions  Describe how OH practice evolved  Benefits of caring for worker’s health  Identify regulations and laws of OH  Summary  INTRODUCTION Occupational safety and health (OSH) is a cross disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. It is concerned with preserving and protecting human and facility resources in the workplace. Occupational safety and health involves helping people by preventing them from being injured or becoming ill due to hazards in their workplaces Occupational safety and health is also seen as the management function in an organization concerned with improving its quality and efficiency  INTRODUCTION CONT. Occupational health deals with all aspects of health and safety in the workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards. 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 nursing was originally known as “industrial nursing,” evolving during the Industrial Revolution because of the advent of the industrial revolution in the eighteenth century when factory work was very dangerous affecting the health and  INTRODUCTION CONT.  Occupational health is a small healthcare specialty that was initially devoted to the prevention and management of occupational and environmental injury, illness, and disability.  The specialty has grown to encompass other dimensions of healthcare, including the promotion of health and productivity along with the support for a safe workplace. The specialty of occupational health is focused on policy and issues relevant to health and safety by devoting attention to individuals and groups in the workplace  DEFINITION  Occupational health can also be defined as a multifaceted and multidisciplinary activity concerned with the safety and welfare of people engaged in work as well as the prevention of ill health in employed populations.  Occupational health is an area of work in public health to promote and maintain highest degree of physical, mental and social well- being of workers in all occupations.  The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined occupational health as “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being of workers in relation to adjustment to their work and working environment. DEFINITION Occupational health is:  Part of public health  Ensuring people are safe at work  Preserving and protecting human resources  A Multidisciplinary approach to recognition, diagnosis, treatment and prevention and control of work-related diseases, injuries and other conditions OBJECTIVES  Promotion of physical, mental and social well being of workers  prevention from harm caused by their working environment  protectio from risk resulting from factors adverse to health  placing workers in an environment adapted to physical and psychological equipment (regular training on how to operate new machines)  assist injured and disables for rehabilitation  improve human efficiency at work by applying ergonomics  GOALS  To foster a safe and healthy work environment  To protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers and many others who might be affected by the workplace environment  The practice of occupational health is focused on promotion and restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, and protection from work-related hazards. Note: Make sure people go home from work with all their fingers and toes intact, and that they have not been exposed to anything that will adversely affect their health. Your job should NOT make you sick!  FUNCTIONS  Identification OF OH SERVICES and assessment of the health risk in the workplace  Surveillance of work environment factors and work practices that affect workers’ health, including sanitary installations, canteens and housing, when such facilities are provided by the employer  Participation in the development of programmes for the improvement of working practices, as well as testing and evaluating health aspects of new equipment  Advice on planning and organization of work, design of workplaces, choice and maintenance of machinery, FUNCTIONS OF OH SERVICES CT’D  Advice on OH, safety and hygiene, and on ergonomics and individual and collective protective equipment  Surveillance of workers’ health in relation to work  Promoting the adaptation of work to the worker  Collaboration in providing information, training and education in the fields of OH, hygiene and ergonomics  Contribution to measures of vocational rehabilitation  Organization of first-aid and emergency treatment  Participation in the analysis of occupational accidents and occupational diseases  FUNCTIONS OF OH NURSING SERVICE The general functions of an occupational health service (OHS) identified by the WHO listed the functions of occupational health nursing as:  Health surveillance of the work environment  Prevention of occupational ill health and accident  Treatment of illness and injury at work (first aid organization)  Counseling and rehabilitation  Partake in research, Keeping records and producing reports  Act as liaison  Provide health education and safety programs.  HISTORY There has been a long historical interest in the health and welfare of the workforce; there is mention of how work affects health in the Bible and around that time, circa 3000 BC. There is evidence that in ancient Egypt when building the pyramids, the slaves covered their mouths in order to prevent them from inhaling the dust rising from the various building processes.  In the eighteenth century, Dr Ramazinni, an Italian Professor of Medicine wrote his treatise on the diseases of workers, De Morbis Artificum Diatriba or Diseases of Tradesmen and Craftsmen, and is therefore regarded as the father of industrial medicine.  In his work, he outlined the hazards to health of many substances, dusts, vapours and chemicals as well as other agents from some 52 HISTORY C’TD  Following the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, the migration of people from rural areas to cities and towns led to increased health problems associated with poor living and working conditions. Mortality rates were high among sufferers of tuberculosis, typhoid and cholera. High infant mortality and poor living conditions were noted.  Later, Charley in her interesting historical book explores the birth of industrial nursing and in particular the work of the nineteenth- century philanthropists who cared for their workers, not only from a health perspective but often also from a home and social aspect. HISTORY C’TD  It was here that OH nursing is thought to originate, from the work of Philippa Flowerday who worked in Norwich for Colman’s Mustard and is attributed to be the first OH nurse, working in the mornings in the factory and in the afternoons with workers families – a sort of link between OH and health visiting!  An early account is associated with the Code of Hammurabi that dates back to approximately 2100 BC.  It was primarily concerned with personal injury and losses and it prescribed a schedule of punishments and payments for wrongdoers in an attempt to recompense victims of the listed violations  HISTORY C’TD  Then came the European Renaissance during which the physicians and chemists began noticing the relationship between occupational activities and worker health and safety.  In the United States, the Industrial Revolution began in the early 19th century as factories and mills in New England sprang to life.  Increasing industrialization in Ghana is an indication of increasing numbers of the Ghanaian population being exposed to workplace physical, chemical, biological, and psychological stressors.  In the interest of ensuring protection of workers from work-related injuries and illnesses as well as preventing accidents in the industry, other legal instruments have been introduced in various sectors to control employers and employees BENEFITS OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH  Reduced staff turnover  Improved employee mental health  Happier and healthier employees  Improved productivity  Better professional relationships with colleagues and clients  Lower levels of staff absenteeism REGULATIONS AND LAWS  The Mining and Minerals Regulations 1970 LI 665,  The Workman's Compensation Law 1987,  The Ghana Health Services and Teaching Hospital Act 526 (1999),  The Ghana Labour Act 2003 (Act 651),  The Radiation Protection Instrument LI 1559 of 1993, which is an amendment of the Ghana Atomic Energy Act 204 of 1963,  The Environmental Protection Agency Act 1994 (Act 490), which has components that include but not limited to the Pesticide Control and Management Act 1996 (Act 528), seeking to protect not only the environment but also persons,  The National Road Safety Commission Act 1999 (Act 567). IMPORTANCE OF THE REGULATIONS  Encouraging safe working practices  Ergonomics (studying how you work and how you could work better)  Monitoring the health of the workforce  Supporting the management of sickness absence.  Work with your employer to implement policies and ensure health and safety compliance  Conduct pre-employment health assessments IMPORTANCE C’TD  Support health promotion and education programmes  Provide advice and counselling to employees around non- health-related problems  Provide your employer with advice and guidance around making reasonable adjustments to your working conditions. PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES  Systems for hazard identification, assessment and control  Control of hazards  Monitoring and control of hazards  Medical surveillance  Prevention of communicable diseases  Education and training  Curative and rehabilitation  Accident and incident reporting  First aid services and Counseling services SUMMARY  Taking care of the health, safety and welfare of the workforce was, and still is, thought to be costly.  However, today there is research that shows that ‘good health is good business’ and promoting a healthy workforce and taking an interest in health and well-being of employees can actually help to cut sickness, absence rates, reduce accidents and prevent fatalities, therefore saving the employer money in the long run.  Where the employer contributes towards a private health insurance plan, they may also save money by improving the health of their workforce, and help to avoid costly early NOTE  A person’s health can affect their work, either favorably through higher levels of commitment and performance, or negatively through higher levels of absenteeism and presenteeism. Likewise, an employee’s work can affect his health, whether it is harmful, causing occupational illnesses or, advantageously, generating a virtuous circle of better performance and well-being. VIDEO