OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING

1
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING

• INTRODUCTION

2
WHAT IS WORK HEALTH

• WORK / OCCUPATION
• An essential human activity that occupy a
  considerable part of a persons waking hours
• Can be stimulating rewarding
• Can contribute to stress
• HEALTH
• NOT merely the absence of disease BUT a state of
  complete physical, mental, social and spiritual
  well-being
• (Wellers, 2000)

3
What is Occupational Health?

• WHO defined Occupational Health as
• the promotion and maintenance of the highest
  degree of physical, mental and social well-being
  of workers in all occupations
• (Harrington Gill,1992)

4
Cont......

• Concerned with two-way relationship of WORK and
  HEALTH
• Related to the effects of working condition
  and/or environment on health of worker
  influence on ability to perform tasks in the
  workplace
• Prevention is better than cure ensuring work
  working condition DO NOT affect the health of
  people

5
What is Occupational Health Nursing?

• Application of nursing principles in conserving
  the health of workers at the workplace.
• Based on principles of recognition, prevention
  and treatment of illness, injuries.
• Formally known as Industrial Nursing

6
Pioneers of OHN Services

• Florence Nightingle (UK 1820)
• Phillipa Flowerday (UK 1878)
• Betty Moulder (US 1888)
• Ada Mayo Stewart (US 1895)

7
Aims of OHN

• Promotion and maintenance of the highest degree
  of physical,mental and social well-being of
  workers in all occupations
• by preventing- departures from health caused
• by their working conditions,
• protecting the workers in their employment -
• from risks resulting from factors adverse to
• health
• and adaptation of work to the workers and
• workers to their jobs

8
Objectives

• Maintenance and promotion of workers
• health and working capacity(Health
• monitoring)
• Improvement of working environment and
• work to become conducive to safety and
• health(Worksite visits)
• Development of work organisations and
• working cultures in a direction, which
  supports
• health and safety at work(Health Education )

9
Relevant Legislations on Occupational Health
Safety

• Employment Order 2009( pre-employment medical
  examinations ,first aid medical treatment,
  worker housing ,night work ,child
  labour)-Previously Brunei Labour Laws 1954
• Workmen Compensation Act 1957 (workplace
  accidents occupational diseases)
• Workplace Safety Health Order 2009  

10
The Scope of OHN practice

1. Prevention of occupational injuries
2. Prevention of occupational illness
3. Reducing work place hazards
4. Promotion of workers health
5. Restoration of workers health (maintenance of
   workers health)

11
Occupational injuries

• such as a cut, fracture, sprain, amputation, etc,
  that may results from a single instantaneous
  exposure or incident in the work department or
  during the course of work.

12
Occupational illness

• any abnormal condition or disorder, other than
  one resulting from an occupational injury caused
  by exposure to environmental factors associated
  with employment.
• It can be acute or chronic illnesses, following
  exposure to the hazards through inhalation,
  absorption, ingestion, or direct contact.

13
Work and Health

• Exposure to health hazards in the workplace may
  cause adverse health effects
• Disease development depends on
• host factors, non-occupational exposure
  (lifestyles hobbies), environmental factors,
  inherent properties of the agent, exposure level,
  exposure length other workplace stressors.

14
Factors influencing our Health

• Genes
• Determine who you are
• Likelihood of contracting disease

• Environment
• Workplace
• Leisure
• Domestic/living Environment

Health

• Lifestyles
• Smoking
• Diet
• Alcohol
• Stress
• Exercise

15
Cause and effects
Lung cancer
Cause is
hard to see
Fume fevers
Stress
Leukaemia
Dermatitis
Musculo-skeletal disorders
Solvent
effects
NIHL
Welders Flash
Cause is
Mesothelioma
Accidents
easy to see
Minutes
Days
Months
Years
Decades
16
Basic Principles of Disease Prevention
NURSING INTERVENTIONS
Higher level of surveillance

• Treatment / Referral
• Lung Function Test
• Personal Protective
• Equipment

• Health Screening
• Early detection

• Health education
• Base-line health
• assessment
• Elimination of
• substances

Lower level of surveillance
17
Workplace Hazards

• Physical hazards
• Chemical hazards
• Biological hazards
• Mechanical hazards
• Psychosocial hazards
• Ergonomic Hazards
• Safety

18
Workplace Health Safety

• Who are legally responsible for identifying
• and correcting health and safety hazards?
• Authorised personnels
• Employers
• Contractors
• Owners
• Workers
• Supervisors
• Self-employers persons
• Suppliers

19
Protected workers fundamental rights

• To know about hazards in the workplace, how to
  identify them and how to protect themselves
• To participate in health and safety decisions
  through managements consultation with
  occupational health committees and workers
• To refuse unusually dangerous work

20

• According to The Occupational Health and
  Safety Act - OSHA (1993),
• ..everyone in the workplace is required
• to work together to identify and control
• health and safety hazards

21
Who are the Occupational Health Team?

• Occupational health physician
• Occupational health nurse
• Occupational health epidemiologist
• Occupational hygienist
• Industrial toxicologist

• Industrial psychologist
• Ergonomist
• Occupational therapist
• Physiotherapist
• Health educator
• Safety engineer

22
THANK YOU !
23
Ergonomist

• design the workplace and the job to fit the
  worker.
• It deals with designing and changing the
  workplace to ensure employees are not injured or
  made unusually uncomfortable when working.

24
Ergonomics

• Lifting and handling loads
• Work that involves standing for long periods of
  time, antifatigue mats and footrests
• Situations where it is appropriate for workers to
  be permitted to sit while working, seating
  requirements and footrest
• Musculoskeletal injuries which include muscle
  injuries or disorders of tendons, ligaments,
  nerves, joints, bones, etc

25
Epidemiologist

• studies the incidence and distribution of
  diseases in large populations, and the conditions
  influencing the spread and severity of disease.

26
Hygienist

• responsible for recognizing, evaluating and
  controlling health hazards in the workplace.
• to do this an occupational hygienist will examine
  the work environment and work activities.