s

1. Occupational
Health Nursing
Dr. Ghazwan A Al-Hussein

2. Occupational Health
 It deals with all aspects of health
and safety in the workplace and
has a strong focus on primary
prevention of hazards. The
health of the workers has several
determinants.

3. Definition of Occupational Health:
Occupational Health is 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. Objectives of Occupational Health
1. The maintenance and promotion of
workers’ health and working capacity.
2. The improvement of working environment
and work to become conducive to safety and
health

5. Objectives of Occupational Health
3. The development of work organization and
working cultures in a direction, which
supports health and safety at work and in
doing so also, promotes a positive social
climate and smooth operation and may
enhance the productivity of the undertaking.

6. Occupational Health Services
 The ILO Occupational Health Services
Convention defines “occupational health
services” as services entrusted with essentially
preventive functions and responsible for advising
the employer, the workers and their
representatives in the undertaking on the
requirements for establishing and maintaining a
safe and healthy working environment which will
facilitate optimal physical and mental health in
relation to work and the adaptation of work to the
capabilities of workers in the light of their state of
physical and mental health.

7. Occupational Health Services
Provision of occupational health services
means carrying out activities in the
workplace with the aim of protecting and
promoting workers’ safety, health and
well-being, as well as improving working
conditions and the working environment.

8. Occupational Health Nursing Settings
Nurses who select the field of occupational health and safety
encounter experiences that differ significantly from those found
in an acute care setting.
The occupational and environmental health nurse participates in
the organization’s goals through activities that contribute to the
productivity of the workforce.

9. The Occupational Health
nurse is generally responsible for
management of the occupational
health unit, serving the needs of
employees and management
personnel.

10. Philosophy of Occupational Health
Occupation has an effect on health
and well-being.
Occupation creates structure and
organizes time.
Occupation brings meaning to life,
culturally and personally.
Occupations are individual. People
value different occupations.

11. Employee health has long been recognized as making
a vital contribution to:
 Individual lives,
 the productivity of business, and
 the well-being of the entire nation.
Organizations are expected to :
 provide a safe and healthy work environment,
offering insurance for health care.

12. Occupational health process
• Referral
• Information gathering
• Initial assessment
• Needs identification/problem formation
• Goal setting
• Action planning
• Action
• Ongoing assessment and revision of
action
• End of intervention or discharge.

13. Workplace Health Management
There are four key components of workplace
health management:
__Occupational Health and Safety
__Workplace Health Promotion
__Social and lifestyle determinants of health
__Environmental Health Management

14. Role of the Occupational Health Nurse in
Workplace
The occupational health nurse may fulfil several,
often inter related and complimentary, roles in
workplace health management, including:
 The clinician role: the nurse continued to care
for sick or injured employees at work. However,
recognition of the need to protect employees’ safety
and, later, to prevent their illness led to the
inclusion of health education in the occupational
health nurse role.

15. The clinician role:
• primary prevention,
• emergency care,
• treatment services,
• nursing diagnosis,
• individual and group care plan,
• general health advice and health assessment,
• research and the use of evidence based practice

16. Role of the Occupational Health Nurse in
Workplace
 Advocator: assuring appropriate job assignments for
workers and adequate treatment for job-related illness or
injury.
 Collaborator : collaborate with other health care
providers and company management to offer better
services to their clients.
 Leader and manager role : leaders and managers in
developing new health services in the work setting,
endorsing programs such as hypertension screening and
weight control, management, administration, budget
planning, marketing, continuing professional development

17. Role of the Occupational Health Nurse in
Workplace
 Monitor : occupational health nurses need
to constantly monitor the work
environment and assess the health needs of
the entire worker population to identify
those at risk, particularly workers in
hazardous lines of work, and to develop
prevention, promotion, and protection
programs

18. • Co-ordinator occupational health team , worker
education and training, environmental health
management
• Adviser .management and staff on issues related to
workplace health management
• Health educator. workplace health promotion
• Counsellor: counselling and reflective listening skills,
problem solving skills
• Researcher .health needs assessment, research skills,
evidence based practice

19. The occupational health nurse’s role
depends on the :
 type and philosophy of the company
 type and number of workers, health professionals
involved,
 exposures and potential hazards in the work
environment, and knowledge and skills of the
nurse.

20. The World Health Organization (WHO),
Development of human resources for workers’
health should be further strengthened by:
 further postgraduate training in relevant disciplines;
 building capacity for basic occupational health
services;

21. The World Health Organization (WHO),
Development of human resources for workers’
health should be further strengthened by:
 incorporating workers’ health in the training of PHC
practitioners and other professionals needed for
occupational health services;
 creating incentives for attracting and retaining human
resources for workers’ health, and encouraging the
establishment of networks of services and
professional associations.

22. The occupational health team
The professionals involved in the occupational health team
includes, some or all of the following:
1. occupational health nurses
2. occupational health physicians
3. industrial hygienists
4. safety engineers
5. work organization specialists
6. psychologists
7. counsellors
8. physiotherapists.
9. health economists
10. academic researchers and others

23. The occupational and environmental health nurse
will particularly need skills in:
 Effective communication,
 leadership,
 Change management,
 Research
 Business acumen, and
 Assertiveness.

24. Health and Safety Hazards
1- Biological hazards, such as TB,
Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, SARS;
2- Chemical hazards, such as,
glutaraldehyde, ethylene oxide;
3- Physical hazards, such as noise,
radiation, slips trips and falls;
4- Ergonomic hazards, such as heavy
lifting;

25. Health and Safety Hazards
5- Psychosocial hazards, such as
shift work, violence and stress;
6- Fire and explosion hazards,
such as using oxygen, alcohol
sanitizing gels;
7- Electrical hazards, such as
frayed electrical cords.

26. Occupational Health Nursing
 “The specialty practice that
provides for and delivers health
care services to workers and
worker populations. The practice
focuses on promotion,
protection, and restoration of
workers' health within the
context of a safe and healthy
work environment.”

27. Occupational Health Nurses
Are registered nurses who
independently observe and
assess the worker's health
status with respect to job
tasks and hazards.

28. OHN Activities:
1- Observation and assessment of
both the worker and the work
environment
2- Interpretation and evaluation
of the worker's medical and
occupational history, subjective
complaints, and physical
examination,.

29. OHN Activities:
3- Interpretation of medical diagnosis to workers and their
employers
4- Appraisal of the work environment for potential
exposures
5- Identification of abnormalities
6- Description of the worker's response to the exposures
7- Management of occupational and non-occupational
illness and injury
8- Documentation of the injury or illness

30. Standards for Occupational
Health Nursing
 Assessment
 Diagnosis
 Outcome
identification
 Planning
 Implementation
 Evaluation
 Resource
management
 Professional
development
 Collaboration
 Research
 Ethics

31. Assessing health in work settings :
a.Biophysical Considerations in
Occupational Health
 Age composition of the workforce
 Racial composition of the
workforce
 Gender composition of the
workforce
 Physiologic conditions present in
the workforce
 Immunization status of the
workforce

32. b.Psychological Considerations in
Occupational Health
 Extent of job strain
 Stress in the work setting
 Prevalence of mental health
problems
 Employee coping skills

33. C.Physical Environmental
Considerations in OH
 Presence of health and safety
hazards in the environment
 Adequacy of surveillance
systems for hazardous work
conditions

34. D.Sociocultural Considerations in
Occupational Health
 Spheres of influence on employee health
 Regulatory activity
 Cultural beliefs and behaviors
 Language
 Interpersonal interactions
 Violence
 Family issues

35. Spheres of Influence on Health
 Personal sphere
 Coworker sphere
 Management sphere
 Legal, social, political sphere

36. E.Behavioral Considerations in
Occupational Health
 Type of work performed
 Consumption patterns
 Rest and exercise
 Use of safety devices

37. F.Health System Considerations
 Type of internal health care system
 Adequacy of internal health care
system to meet population needs
 Interactions with the external
system

38. Types of Internal Health Systems
 Toxic substance control
programs
 Health promotion programs
 Comprehensive programs
 Family care programs

39. 3. Planning nursing care in work
settings:
Primary Prevention
 Health Promotion
◦ Awareness programs
◦ Motivation programs
◦ Behavior change programs
◦ Culture change programs
 Illness prevention
 Injury prevention

40. Secondary Prevention in
Occupational Settings
 Screening and surveillance
◦ Pre-employment screening
◦ Periodic employee screening
◦ Environmental screening
 Treatment for existing conditions
 Emergency Care

41. Tertiary Prevention in
Occupational Settings
 Preventing the spread of communicable
diseases
 Preventing recurrence of other acute conditions
 Preventing complications of acute and chronic
conditions

42. 4.Implementing health care
plan in work settings
Implementing health care plan
in work settings frequently
involves collaboration with
others (example collaboration
between nurse and clients ,
other health care providers etc,)

43. 5.Evaluating health care in work
settings
Evaluating can focus on the
outcomes of care either for the
individual employee or for the
total population .

44. Future occupational health nurse activities
will involve the following:
◆ Analyzing tendencies (health promotion, risk
reduction, and health expenditures)
◆ Developing programs suited to corporate
needs
◆ Recommending more efficient and cost-
effective in-house health services
◆ Determining cost-effective alternatives to
health programs and services
◆ Collaborating with others to identify problems
and propose solutions

45. Reference
Community health nursing : promoting and
protecting the public’s health / Judith A.
Allender, Cherie Rector, Kristine D. Warner. —
7th ed

46. Thank YOU