Occupational health program development

A model occupational health program was developed for 300,000 U. S. Army employees in Europe. Despite the availability of both fiscal resources and personnel, those charged with developing the program discovered that the traditional approach to occupational health could not be applied directly. Complex command channels required a well-stated delineation of responsibilities. Compounding the problems inherent in demographic complexity were geographical dispersion and organizational complexity, a broad spectrum of potential industrial hazards, and diverse occupational health laws for multiple-employee groups, all of which resulted in the need for flexibility. Because of limited capabilities to provide technical and clinical services, all services required a maximum amount of tailoring. The model described here, called the functional approach to occupational health, was designed to address these requirements.