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Regional occupational health service - an assessment
1Department of Occupational Medicine, Division of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel. rcarel@post.tau.ac.il
Aim:
To present, partially in quantitative terms, the basic characteristics of a regional occupational health service in southern Israel.
Method:
Records of the annual activities of the regional occupational health service were analyzed over a period of about 10 years.
Results:
Overall there were about 25,000 contacts per year, such that about 15,000-16,000 different individuals were examined each year (out of a population of about 150,000 workers). About 45% of the examinations performed were surveillance (statutory), 38% fitness-to-work, and 15% pre-employment examinations. These proportions were quite stable over the whole study period, even though services are provided to hundreds of work-sites of markedly different sizes, exposures, and technological development. As expected, the type and rate of abnormal findings differ significantly among the 3 categories: 7% for pre-employment examinations, 18% for surveillance, and 53% for fitness-to- work examinations.
Conclusion:
In order to provide adequate occupational health services to a large, non-uniform population of workers, a clear understanding of the "occupational map" of the region is needed. A good insight into the characteristics, aims, and scope of the 3 main categories of examinations used in occupational health could assist in forecasting, planning, and providing adequate regional occupational health service.