Public Health: Occupational Health

What important personal factor predisposes someone to an increased risk of injury?

AGE

General hazards include:

Electricity Explosive materials Fire Flammable gases Heat High pressure/hot gases and liquids Powerful or sharp moving machinery Poisonous gases Radiation Toxic materials Work on, near or under water

What does occupational safety research look like?

Injury prevention Engineering/human factors Improving intervention effectiveness Education/training Discipline/compliance & Property damage

What is another important personal factor predisposes someone to an increased risk of injury?

Obesity

Common causes of industrial injury:

Poor ergonomics Manual handling of heavy loads Misuse or failure of equipment Exposure to general hazards ***Inadequate safety training and clothing Jewelry or long hair that becomes tangled in machinery

Healthcare associated injuries/pain:

Slips, trips and falls are common. Often these accidents result in a back injury that can persist to a permanent disability 25% of reported injuries in health care workers are back pain\ Another common type of injury is carpal tunnel syndrome associated with overuse of the hands and wrists.

What administration came from this?

The Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

What is federal act for occupational health?

The Occupational Safety and Health Act is the primary federal law which governs occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. (1970)

Methods of preventing or reducing industrial injuries:

anticipation of problems by risk assessment, safety training, control banding, personal protective equipment, safety guards, mechanisms on machinery, and safety barriers.

What is occupational injury?

bodily damage resulting from working

What two types of enforcement are used in occupational health?

enforcement within the industry (referred to as discipline) enforcement by governmental agencies (referred to as compliance)

What do educational safety programs do?

focus on increasing peoples' knowledge by giving them a background on theories, principles and techniques for improving their future problem-solving abilities

What is social cognitive therapy?

posits that learning occurs in a social context with a dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the person, environment, and behavior

What is occupational health?

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

Define occupational health Discuss the impact of occupational injuries to both the individual and society as a whole Explain the history of occupational health including governmental influence Discuss some traditional safety and health interventions in the context of the need for education/training and how to bring about enforcement Discuss some psychological models of occupational safety and health and the theories that underpin proposed research in the field

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 4,383 workers died from job injuries 92% of deaths were male Nearly 3 million non-fatal workplace injuries & illness were reported The cost to businesses was $198.2 billion and 60 million workdays There are many methods of preventing or reducing industrial injuries including: anticipation of problems by risk assessment, safety training, control banding, personal protective equipment, safety guards, mechanisms on machinery, and safety barriers. In addition, past problems can be analyzed to find their root causes by using a technique called root cause analysis Many authors/studies compare theoretical constructs from social cognitive theory and other health behavior frameworks such as The Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change) Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) posits that learning occurs in a social context with a dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the person, environment, and behavior The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) is an integrative, biopsychosocial model which conceptualizes the process of intentional behavior change