Global Occupational Health: Current Challenges and the Need for Urgent Action

Lucchini, Roberto; London, Leslie

doi:10.1016/j.aogh.2014.09.006

Cited by 124 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Although WHO published recommendations on their global strategy of occupational health for all in 1994 40 and released their 10-year Global Plan of Action for Workers’ Health in 2007 41 , only 31 countries have ratified the Convention on Occupational Health Services 42 and it has been estimated that only 5% to 10% of workers in developing countries have access to adequate occupational health services 43 . While the impact of the 2014 Ebola epidemic on the health workforce drew attention to the lack of infection control and occupational health services in West Africa 44 , despite having a mortality rate comparable to Ebola and causing illness in an estimated 580 000 people annually, DR-TB has not garnered the necessary political will and urgency to prioritize the institution and maintenance of occupational health services in TB endemic countries.…”

Section: Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Agents of change: The role of healthcare workers in the prevention of nosocomial and occupational tuberculosis

Nathavitharana

Bond²,

Dramowski

et al. 2017

La Presse Médicale

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Healthcare workers (HCWs) play a central role in global tuberculosis (TB) elimination efforts but their contributions are undermined by occupational TB. HCWs have higher rates of latent and active TB than the general population due to persistent occupational TB exposure, particularly in settings where there is a high prevalence of undiagnosed TB in healthcare facilities and TB infection control (TB-IC) programmes are absent or poorly implemented. Occupational health programmes in high TB burden settings are often weak or non-existent and thus data that record the extent of the increased risk of occupational TB globally are scarce. HCWs represent a limited resource in high TB burden settings and occupational TB can lead to workforce attrition. Stigma plays a role in delayed diagnosis, poor treatment outcomes and impaired wellbeing in HCWs who develop TB. Ensuring the prioritization and implementation of TB-IC interventions and occupational health programmes, which include robust monitoring and evaluation, is critical to reduce nosocomial TB transmission to patients and HCWs. The provision of preventive therapy for HCWs with latent TB infection can also prevent progression to active TB. Unlike other patient groups, HCWs are in a unique position to serve as agents of change to raise awareness, advocate for necessary resource allocation and implement TB-IC interventions, with appropriate support from dedicated TB-IC officers at the facility and national TB programme level. Students and community health workers (CHWs) must be engaged and involved in these efforts. Nosocomial TB transmission is an urgent public health problem and adopting rights-based approaches can be helpful. However, these efforts cannot succeed without increased political will, supportive legal frameworks and financial investments to support HCWs in efforts to decrease TB transmission.

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Section: Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Confidentiality should be ensured as far as possible with regards to the outcome of tests, to overcome this barrier to getting tested 61 , although it is important that this should not preclude contact screening. Building robust occupational health systems will be an important component for overall TB elimination efforts 42 .…”

Section: Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agents of change: The role of healthcare workers in the prevention of nosocomial and occupational tuberculosis

Nathavitharana

Bond²,

Dramowski

et al. 2017

La Presse Médicale

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“…Various environmental factors, working conditions, and occupational status from different sectors put a great impact on a health of an individual [13]. Long-term exposure to cotton dust was found to associated obstructive disease which increases with the duration of exposure and correlated with the pulmonary function [14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Respiratory Functions in Textile Mill Workers: Role of Peak Expiratory Flow Rate

Gupta

Malhotra²,

Tripathi³

et al. 2017

Asian J Pharm Clin Res

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“…Annually, worldwide, 2.02 million people die due to work-related diseases and 318 000 people due to occupational injuries (16). Globalization's reliance on "labor exibility" and outsourcing has transferred worker health costs from high-income to low-and middle-income countries (17,18), increasing the health gap across countries and world regions. In LAC, fatal and non-fatal occupational injury rates are ve times higher than the world's average (19).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health inequity in workers of Latin America and the Caribbean

Silva-Peñaherrera

López-Ruiz

Merino-Salazar

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract Background: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is the world’s most inequitable region in terms of wealth distribution. The full scale of social inequalities in health has been hidden by the lack of reliable data. This study aimed to measure and compare health inequalities in the working population within and between 15 countries of LAC. Methods: A sample of 180 163 workers aged 18 years and older was drawn from the most recent national surveys of working conditions or health in 15 LAC countries. Poor self-perceived health (P-SPH) was used as a health indicator, and age, education level, and occupational category as inequality stratifiers. We calculated four measures: absolute and relative population-attributable risks, the Kuznets and weighted Keppel indexes.Results: P-SPH prevalence ranged from 9% in men from Uruguay to 50% in women from Nicaragua. It was higher in women than in men in most countries. A clear gradient was shown, in which young people in non-manual skilled jobs and high education had the lowest prevalence. Nearly 45% of cases that reported P-SPH among men and 35% among women could be avoided if all the groups received a higher level of education. Also, approximately 42% of P-SPH reported by men and 31% by women could be avoided if they all shared the working and employment conditions of non-manual skilled jobs. Conclusions: Wide health inequalities were found between occupational and educational groups in LAC. However, country borders appear to be an even more important stratifier in the production of health inequalities. Urgent interventions to improve worker’s health are needed in countries where prevalence of poor self-perceived health is high. Strengthening occupational health surveillance system in LAC countries should become a priority, in order to track the interventions to reduce occupational health inequity.

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Global Occupational Health: Current Challenges and the Need for Urgent Action

Cited by 124 publications

References 22 publications

Agents of change: The role of healthcare workers in the prevention of nosocomial and occupational tuberculosis

Agents of change: The role of healthcare workers in the prevention of nosocomial and occupational tuberculosis

Respiratory Functions in Textile Mill Workers: Role of Peak Expiratory Flow Rate

Health inequity in workers of Latin America and the Caribbean

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