OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH Dr. Dalia El-Shafei

Lecturer of Occupational Medicine

Learning objectives:1) To understand the concept of occupational health and its

importance.

2) To recognize the aim and the components of occupational

health program.

3) To know the importance & the components of occupational

history and examination.

4) To recognize different occupational hazards and their effects.

5) To know common occupational diseases.

Aim:To be able to apply the

basic principles of occupational medicine

to your professional practice as doctors

http://www.slideshare.net/daliaelshafei

Work Health

{Occupational or work-related diseases}

Health Work

{Medical fitness for work}

``De Morbis Artificum Diatriba``1st book on Occupational diseases – 1700

in Italy

Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714)

Occupational Health :

Promotion & Maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental & social wellbeing of workers in all occupations (WHO & ILO, 1950 & revised in 1995).

Total health of all at work

Occupational Medicine

A branch of preventive medicine with some therapeutic function (Royal College of Physicians, 1978).

It begins as Industrial Medicine then it develops to Occupational Medicine then

to Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Occupational medicine deals with:

1- Health promotion for workers & proper prevention & ttt.

2- Work environment & its adverse effects on workers’ health

3- Health problems of workers at any workplace

Importance of the discipline

More than 2,000,000 people die from work-related accidents or disease every year, equivalent to 1 death every 15

seconds.

Progress in bringing occupational health to the industrializing countries is

painfully slow. In the poorest countries, there has been no progress at all.

Differences between Occupational Medicine &

Clinical Medicine

Occupational disease

It is a disease arising out of or during

the course of employment &

its cause present in the occupation (e.g. silicosis).

Why its diagnosis is very critical?

1) Worker has the right to receive medical care at the expense of the employer.

2) Worker has the right for paid sick leave.

3) If disability occurs, the worker has the right for compensation.

Iceberg of occupational diseases

Some diseases are not specially caused by exposures on job, but

they are aggravated by occupational stressors.

so it can be found in the general population (e.g.

hypertension).

Work-related disease

Questions