The meaning of health with reference to the definition used by the World Health Organisation
‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’
The meaning of Occupational Health reference
In most developed countries, occupational health care evolved as a consequence of the industrial revolution. In 1950 the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) formulated a definition of occupational health care, and described the essential content of occupational health services (OHS)1 .
Definition, adopted by the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health in 1950 and revised in 1995:
The meaning of Occupational Health
“Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risk resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of workers in an environment adapted to their physiological and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the adaptation of work to workers and of each worker to his or her job.”
The meaning of wellbeing reference
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Research Group spent 5 years studying Wellbeing in Developing Countries. Involves exploring the extent to which people can achieve this state of being, and the social conditions that either enable or block this possibility.
The meaning of wellbeing
‘Wellbeing is a state of being with others, where human needs are met, where one can act meaningfully to pursue one’s goals and where one enjoys a satisfactory quality of life.”
The categories of occupational health hazards
- chemical
- dust, fibre, gases, vapours, etc.
- physical
- noise, vibration, radiation, heat, etc.
- biological
- bacteria, fungi, viruses, human endoparasites, etc.
- psychosocial
- stress and violence at work, as well as substance misuse.
- ergonomic
- Posture, workplace layout, etc.
The links between occupational health and general/public health Including arrangements to deal with epidemics.
Occupational health tends to focus on diseases and ill health conditions caused or made worse by work activities and / or situations. Public health tends to focus on the health of society as a whole. There may be some overlap such that public health issues such as pandemic illnesses may affect the levels of health and therefore productivity in the workplace. Individual organisations may wish to consider having contingency plans to deal with large scale sickness absence in the event of an outbreak of illness.
Pandemic and epidemic diseases (PED)
- Airborne diseases
- Vector-borne diseases
- Water-borne diseases
- Rodent-borne diseases
- Haemorrhagic fevers
- Smallpox, monkeypox
- Other zoonotic diseases
- Any other emerging disease
Airborne diseases
influenza (seasonal, pandemic, avian), severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
(MERS-CoV)
Vector-borne diseases
yellow fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, West Nile fever
Water-borne diseases
cholera, shigellosis, typhoid fever
Rodent-borne diseases
plague, leptospirosis, hantavirus, Lassa fever,
rickettsia (murine typhus)
Haemorrhagic fevers
Ebola virus disease, Marburg virus disease,
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Rift Valley fever
Other zoonotic diseases
Nipah virus infection, Hendra virus infection
The Department of Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases (PED)
develops strategies, initiatives, and mechanisms to address priority emerging and re-emerging epidemic diseases, thereby reducing their impact on affected populations and limiting their international spread.
Bio-psychosocial model is widely accepted as …
Bio-psychosocial model is widely accepted as the framework for disability and rehabilitation. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).
The basic principles of the bio-psychosocial model and how it relates to the health of individuals.
The bio-psychosocial model has 3 core principles which also form its name. They are Biological - The physical and/or mental contrition of the individual; Psychological - the personal psychological factors which also influence functioning, the individual must take some measure of personal responsibility for their behaviour; and the last principle, social - the social context, pressures and constraints on behaviour and functioning must be considered.
The principles of fitness to work and fitness to work standards.
The identification of which tasks a worker is capable of performing in order to expedite their rehabilitation and return to work.
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Return to work controls
- a phased return to work
- workplace adaptation
- altered hours
- amended duties
The roles and benefits of pre-placement assessment
Role
- To ensure as far as possible that the person is fit both mentally and physically to do the duties required of them in the job they have been successfully interviewed for.
Benefits
- Presents an opportunity to all parties, the worker and the organisation to actively engage in health discussions on joining the organisation
- This assists both the worker and the organisation to maintain good health and reduce the likelihood of injury
- For the individual, it should reinforce that the organisation they are joining places a value upon their overall safety
- Reduction in the absence rates and number of days lost through ill-health and the resulting costs associated with absence
- Pre-Employment medicals can also raise health issues, previously unknown or undetected that potentially, if left undiagnosed, can adversely impact upon the individuals health and have far reaching impacts other than simply their ability to work.
- From an employer’s perspective a pre-employment medical can also help address some of the cultural barriers around the mistrust of organisations using medical information, such as promotions
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PH19-NICE
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Public health guideline [PH19] Published date: March 2009
Workplace health: long-term sickness absence and incapacity to work
Managing long-term and short-term frequent sickness absence/incapacity for work with reference to PH19-NICE
- Identify someone who is suitably trained and impartial to undertake initial enquiries with an employee who is experiencing long-term sickness absence or recurring short- or long-term sickness absence.
- If necessary, arrange for a more detailed assessment by relevant specialist/s. This could be coordinated by a suitably trained case worker/s.
- Coordinate and support any health, occupational or rehabilitation interventions or services and any return-to-work plan agreed with the employee.
The meaning of vocational rehabilitation
‘Whatever helps someone with a health problem to stay at, return to and remain in work.’
Vocational rehabilitation is the process of returning a worker back to meaningful work as a way of aiding their recovery and return to health following a period of physical or mental ill health. It can also be a way of improving the health of an individual through getting them into work and keeping them in work.
The benefits of vocational rehabilitation within the context of the employee
- Better physical health
Improvements in the physical health of employees who have been rehabilitated back into the workplace are derived from the physical and mental demands of the job they are performing. This is in contrast to some historic preconceptions that the best place for an ill worker to recover is at home. - Better mental health
Improvements to the mental health of employees are linked to the fact that many people define themselves by the work that they do and society at large defines individuals in the same way. Work is therefore often a vital component of an individual’s self-esteem. There is also a strong social component at work for many people. There are mental health benefits that come from that the interactions social contact that work provides. - Increased financial security
Benefits are both direct and indirect, such as wage or salary, pension contributions and the opportunity for advancement and pay increases that result from work.
