The document discusses the definition and importance of occupational health and safety, emphasizing the need for a safe working environment to promote workers' well-being. It highlights various occupational hazards, the prevalence of occupational diseases, and preventive measures, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it provides statistics about the workforce in Nepal, including gender distribution and types of employment, and outlines the benefits of effective occupational health and safety management systems.

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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

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DEFINITION
 Occupational Health is the promotion & 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. (ILO/WHO 1950)
 Occupational safety and health is the science of anticipation, recognition,
evaluation and control of hazards arising in or from the workplace, which
could impair the health and well-being of workers, and also impact the
surrounding communities and the environment

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 According to Nepal labor force survey, 2008, the total number of
currently employed persons increased from 9463 thousand
in 1998/99 to 11779 thousand in 2008. Likewise, the
proportion of paid employees increased slightly from 16.0
percent in 1998/99 to 16.9 percent in 2008. Moreover based on
the classification of industry, 73.9 percent of people are
working in the agricultural sector and 26.1 percent in non-
agriculture. Among the employed persons, nearly 68 percent
worked 40 hours and more,

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 20 percent 20-39 hours, 11 percent 1-19 hours and an
insignificant proportion reported that they did not work in the
reference week in 2007/8. With such background, it is
immensely important that workers have a healthy and safe
environment at work, which should be of certain standards

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 Objective
 Promote the development of sound national policies and
programmes for health and safety of the workers with
emphasis on programmes for underprivileged groups like
women, children, migrant workers and workers of informal

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Different industries
 Metal industry
 Paint (Coating) Industry
 Tent industry
 Drinking water bottling plant
 Brick kiln
 Stone crusher plant
 Construction industry
 Embroidery industry
 Instant noodle industry
 Carpet industry

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DIFFERENT HAZARDS FOUND IN WORKPLACE
 1.Lack of hygiene in the workplace
 2.Airborne contaminants
 3.Chemicals at the workplace
 4.Noise and illumination of the workplace
 5.Work load (long work hours, heavy load or both)
 6.Work posture (sitting, standing, crowded work/machinery,
etc.)
 7.Tools and equipment (sharp, hammering, power-driven)

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The major causes of occupational hazards found in different
work
sectors were:
 Unsafe working conditions
 2. Lack of supervision and training
 3. Use of old machinery and equipment
 4. Lack of sufficient maintenance
 5. Bad house-keeping practices
 6. Violation of safety rules
 7. Overcrowded production units with very congested space

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 Some work activities were noted to have high risks;
 1. Working with machine and equipment
 2. Use of electricity
 3. Building and Construction works
 4. Use of chemicals in industries
 5. Dusty worksites

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OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE
 An occupational disease is any chronic ailment that occurs
as a result of work or occupational activity. It is an aspect of
occupational safety and health.
 An occupational disease is typically identified when it is
shown that it is more prevalent in a given body of workers
than in the general population, or in other worker
populations.

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Types
 Lung diseases
 Skin diseases
 Other diseases of concern:
 Overuse syndrome among persons who perform repetitive or forceful movements in constrictive postures
 Carpal tunnel syndrome among persons who work in the poultry industry and information technology
 Computer vision syndrome among persons using information technology for hours
 Lead poisoning affecting workers in many industries that processed or employed lead or lead compounds

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Prevention
 Prevention measures include avoidance of the irritant through its removal from the workplace or through technical shielding by the
use of potent irritants in closed systems or automation, irritant replacement or removal and personal protection of the workers.
 In order to better prevent and control occupational disease, most countries revise and update their related laws, most of them greatly
increasing the penalties in case of breaches of the occupational disease laws. Occupational disease prevention, in general legally
regulated, is part of good supply chain management and enables companies to design and ensure supply chain social compliance
schemes as well as monitor their implementation to identify and prevent occupational disease hazards.

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In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
 working conditions for health workers may deteriorate. In addition to
the risks of infection with COVID-19, health workers continue to
experience other occupational health and safety risks of biological,
physical or psychosocial nature. Therefore, for the protection of
physical and mental health, safety and well-being of health workers,
 WHO recommends a combination of measures for infection
prevention and control, occupational health and safety and
psychosocial support.

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Occupational health and safety in the context of COVID-19.
1) Infectious risks to health and safety:
2) By the end of this module, you should be able to: explain how health workers can be exposed to infectious hazards; describe how
respiratory infections and bloodborne pathogens are transmitted to health workers; and describe the steps that health workers can
take to protect themselves from respiratory infections: standard precautions and control measures to prevent different infections.
3) Physical risks to health and safety:
4) By the end of this module, you should be able to: list the major risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders in the health sector;
describe high risk activities when handling patients; and describe the major types of occupational hazards that health workers face
and how to prevent them.

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 3) Psychosocial risks to health and safety:
 By the end of this module, you should be able to: list the major sources of psychosocial risks for health
workers; describe the signs of fatigue and how to prevent it; describe the risk factors, signs and
preventive actions for workplace violence; and describe how health workers and managers can protect
and support mental health.
 4) Basic occupational health and safety in health services:By the end of this module, you should be able
to: describe the responsibilities of employers and managers in occupational health safety and describe
actions that can be taken by health workers to promote occupational health and safety.

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SOME OF THE DATA RELATED TO OCCUPATIONAL
WORKER & HEALTH
 Distribution of public health workers by facility—Health posts and sub-health posts had the
largest number of public health workers at 12,884(39%), followed by the central level
hospitals, which had 7,386 (23%) of this workforce. Of all doctorsin the public health
workforce,76% (484) were located in the central hospitals and 9% in district hospitals.
 Types of employment—The majority of public health workerswerepermanent
employees(82%) while 13% were employed on contract. Most staff (96%) in PHCCs,health
posts and SHPs were permanent employees. Only 44% of the workforce in private health
facilities comprisedpermanent employeeswhile 36% were employed on contracts.

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 Gender distribution by health occupation/cadre—46% of
the workforce in the public and private sectors combined
and 40% of employees in the public sector were female. Most
of the females were in the two nursing categories. In all other
groups (except dentists) the large majority of the workforce
was male.

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10 Benefits of Occupational Health and Safety Management
Systems
 Improved health and safety performance
 Reduced cost associated with accidents and incidents
 Improved staff relations and morale
 Improve business efficiency
 Improved public image and PR
 Lower insurance premiums
 Easier access to finance
 Increased regulatory compliance
 Improved confidence
 Boost corporate and social responsibility

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Thank You

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Bibliography
 Occupational_Safety_and_Health_in_Nepal.pdf
 https://www.safetyaccess.co.uk/2020/03/why-is-occupational-health-and-safety-
important/
 https://www.jliedu.com/blog/importance-ohs-occupational-health-safety/
 https://gefont.org/assets/upload/downloads/Study_OSH_Nepal.pdf
 https://gefont.org/assets/upload/downloads/Study_OSH_Nepal.pdf
 https://www.slideshare.net/sagunpaudel/concept-of-occupational-health-and-
safety-in-nepal
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_disease#Types