The Role of the Nurse in Occupational Health Programs: An Industry Survey

Expectation and evaluation of occupational health nursing services, as perceived by occupational health nurses, employees and employers in the United Kingdom

“…There is comparatively little research on occupahonaJ health nursmg mtemationally, and even less m the UK However, the little there is indicates that the scope of activihes within the speaality is broad In Balcombe's (1983) UK study, the majonty of nurses spent most of their time on treatment, health supervision, counsellmg and environmental visiting, while Justham's (1984) exploratory study mdicated that nurses who did not regulariy teach first aid were more treatment-onentated than those who did Studies from the United States of Amenca (USA) provide a more detailed picture In McKechme's (1983) survey, the work of 48 nurses was based on 10 core functions mcluding co-operahon with others, counsellmg, health education, care of non-work-related illness and mjury, and health exammahons Of the respondents, 91 7% cooperated with others with shared responsibility for the health and welfare of employees, 8 7% provided counselling and 83% camed out health educahon Other shidies have had similar findmgs Bender & FageHund (1976) m a study of 14 nurses identified tasks in the three areas of health observing/reporhng, care/ treating injuries, and listenmg to personal problans Generalization is lirmted owmg to the small sample size of these studies However, Cox (1985) reported that 326 companies (67%) from which nurses responded ofifered a dnig/smokmg/alcohol programme Sixty-one per cent ofifered soreemng for heart disease/stress, 56% a diet/ nutntion progranune, 49% screenmg for cancer, health education, and individual programmes, and 41% mdividual and group physical fitness programmes Chovil et al's (1984) postal survey obtamed 634 usable responses from manufactunng plants and only 27% of these had the services of a first-level registered nurse (RN), although another 29% employed only Licensed Practical Nurses (with 1 year of basic nurse trammg) Where firstlevel nurses were employed, 82% of the mdustnal plants had health promotion programmes related to diet, 78% to smokmg, 70% to screenmg and stress, 60% to alcohol and 53% to stress While speafic nursmg activities were not exammed, it was conduded that nurses were probably mvolved m these health promotion programmes It appears from these studies that services provided were consciously related to employees' health care demands with, at best m sonne mstances, nursmg services based on employees' health needs m general rather than focused on occupational diseases and mjunes alone The health promotion programmes offered addressed the well-known health nsk factors for diseases associated with Lfestyle in mdustnalized countnes Nursmg services are also required both for employees retummg to work after illness, who may need rehabilitation (Thompson 1982) and to support employees m a healthy lifestyle (Knippel 1982)…”

Corporate perspective of the role of the occupational health nurse

“…Information from previous studies suggests a diverse and broad range of functions among occupational health nurses. However, with the exception of the studies of Chovil, Alexander, and Altekruse (1984) and Lusk et al (1988), information has not been gathered from the employer's perspective.…”

“…The first reported study from the perspective of the employer was by Chovil et al (1984). Investigators concluded management's view of occupational health nursing was determined by the level of present performance, which ranged from first-aid attendant to specialist capable of conducting physical examinations and developing health programs.…”

Concept analysis of expertise of occupational health nurses applying Rodgers’s evolutionary model

“…The concept of role was associated with a position and title given by the health‐care unit. Both roles and functions of occupational health nurses varied, and expanded and changed over time 17,18,20,23 . Functions of occupational health nurses included work with individual clients, cooperation with workplaces, management responsibilities and other duties (Table 1).…”

“…The attributes of expertise were profession, role, position and title. [20][21][22][23] Occupational health nurses had different kinds of roles, such as expert, manager, leader, educator and advocate, 20,24-26 depending on their functions. 27,28 The concept of role was associated with a position and title given by the health-care unit.…”