CPH MOD 7

• Occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the SAFETY, HEALTH, and WELFARE of people at occupation
• Importance of occupational and community health


  • Hazardous agents in the workplace affect not only workers but also those outside the worksite
  • Industries and their communities share health problems in the instance of an industrial disaster
  • The workers themselves are a community, with common social problems and environmental risks
• • 50% of work related deaths occur in Asia
  • Fatality rates are 5-6 times higher in developing countries
  • 170,000 agricultural workers and 320,000 other people die from exposures to biological risks
  • Every 15 seconds, 160 workers or 2.3 million people per year die of occupational accidents and diseases
• • There are over 337 million work-related accidents annually, 360,000 fatal accidents and 1.95 million fatal diseases
  • The economic burden of poor OSH practices is estimated at 4% of the global Gross Domestic Product each year
  • 10M: Total number of OFWs at any given time (10% of population)
  • 1.47 M: Number of OFWs deployed in 2010: 1,123,676 are land based and 347,150 are sea based
  • Fatalities decreased by 31.8% (from 170 in 2003 to 116 in 2007)
  • Those permanently incapacitated increased by 23.7% (from 131 in 2003 to 162 in 2007)
• Growing challenges in global OSH


  • Psychosocial risks, work-related stress and non-communicable diseases, notably circulatory and respiratory diseases, and cancers
  • Technology affects psychosocial health and introduce new materials with unmeasured health hazards
  • Demographic Shifts - Young workers have significantly high occupational injury rates, while older workers need adaptive practices and equipment to work safely
  • Development and climate change give rise to risks such as air pollution, heat stress, emerging diseases, shifting weather and temperature patterns that can bring job losses. Equally, new jobs will be created through sustinable development and the green economy
  • Changes in the organization of work can bring not only flexibility that allows more people to enter the labor force, but may also lead to psychosocial issues (e.g. insecurity, etc.)
• • Occupational accidents and diseases cause human suffering and loss
  • Government estimates 2.2 million Filipino workers in medium to large enterprises enjoy effective occupational safety and health protection services
  • 17 out of 18 persons in the workforce do not benefit from acceptable working conditions
• • ILO Country Office for the Philippines supports programs to promote culture of safety and health bringing OSH services to those who need them the most
  • A range of government to non-government agencies are partners, with beneficaries that include agrarian reform farmers, informal workers, and trade unions and their members
• Occupational Safety and Health Legislation

  • Child Labor Law: Under this law, factories were prohibited from hiring children younger than 10 years of age
  • Federal Employees' Compensation Act: which provided federal employees compensation if injured while on the job
  • Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969
  • The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act), also known as the William-Steiger Act
• Purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970


  To ensure that employers in the private sector furnish each employee " employment and a place of employment which are free from hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm"
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health


  Responsible for recommending occupational safety and health standards to OSHA
• OSHA Inspection


  • Any employee or employee representative may notify OSHA of violations of standards or of the general obligation by the employer
  • Under the Act, the employee's name must be withheld if desired, and the employee or a representative may accompany the OSHA inspectors in their inspection
• Common types of occupational disease


  • Back Pain (32.8%)
  • Essential Hypertension (11.5%)
  • Neck and Shoulder Pain (11.4%)
• Riskiest industries for workers


  • Administrative and Support Service Activities (34.3%)
  • Manufacturing Industry (31.1%)
• OSH Laws


  • Republic Act No. 11058 - An act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards and Providing Penalties for Violations thereof (OSH Law)
  • Department Order No. 198-18 Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 11058 Entitled "An Act, Strengthening Compliance with Occupation Safety and Health Standards and Providing Penalties for Violations thereof
  • Labor Advisory No. 04-19 Guide for Compliance of Establishments to DO 198-19
• Incidents and Rates of Non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses within the goods-producing industries: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting, Manufacturing, Construction, Mining
• Incidents and Rates of Non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses within the service-providing industries: Health Care and Social Assistance, Arts
• Types of unintentional injuries in the workplace


  • Minor injuries (such as bruises, cuts, abrasions, and minor burns)
  • Major injuries (such as amputations, fractures, severe lacerations, eye losses, acute poisonings, and severe burns)
• Causes of fatal work-related injuries


  • Transportation incidents (40%)
  • Falls, slips, and trips (17%)
  • Violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16%)
  • Contact with objects and equipment (15%)
  • Exposure to harmful substances or environments (8%)
  • Fires and explosions (3%)
• Characteristics of workers involved in fatal work-related injuries


  • Age - lowest rates for young workers 18-19, next lowest for 20-34, highest for 65+
  • Gender - women die at much lower rates than men, significant portion due to men being in more dangerous jobs
  • Minority status - Hispanic/Latino workers have highest fatality rates, Asian workers lowest
• Characteristics of workers involved in non-fatal work-related injuries


  • Age
  • Gender
  • Poverty and Minority Status
  • Geographic Differences
  • Temporal Variations
• Fatal and nonfatal occupational injury rates vary according to type of industry and type of occupation
• Industries with highest fatal occupational injury rates


  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (24.9 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers)
  • Logging and commercial fishing (109.5 and 80.8 deaths per 100,000 workers respectively)
  • Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (14.1 deaths per 100,000 workers)
  • Aircraft pilots and flight engineers (63.2 deaths per 100,000 workers)
• The overall fatality rate for American workers is less than 4 deaths per 100,000 workers
• • A total of 3.67 million injuries and illnesses were reported in public and private industry workplaces during 2014, resulting in a rate of 3.4 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers
  • Goods-producing industries had higher rates than service-producing industries
  • Among goods-producing industries, agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting had the highest incidence rate (5.5 cases per 100 full-time workers)
  • In the service-producing industries, transportation and warehousing had the highest incidence rate, followed by education and health services (4.2 cases per 100 full-time workers)
  • All 2014 incidence rates showed declines from 2003 levels
• • One particularly hazardous occupation is farming
  • Those working on farms are at considerable risk not just for injuries, but for lung diseases, noise-induced hearing loss, skin diseases, and certain cancers associated with chemical use and sun exposure
  • In 2012, there were approximately 2.2 million farms in the United States, with about 1,854,000 full-time workers involved in production agriculture
  • 1.4 to 2.1 million seasonal crop workers are hired annually
  • More than 955,400 youth lived on farms in 2012 and nearly half worked on their farm
  • Also, more than 250,000 youth were hired in agriculture that year
  • Every day about 38 children are injured, and about every 3 days a child dies in an agriculture related incident
  • In 2014, 263 farm-related deaths were reported, and farming and ranching alone ranked sixth among the top 10 most dangerous jobs in 2014
• Top 10 most dangerous occupations by fatality rate


  • Logging workers (109.5 deaths per 100,000)
  • Fishers and related fishing workers (80.8 deaths per 100,000)
  • Aircraft pilots and flight engineers (63.2 deaths per 100,000)
  • Roofers (46.2 deaths per 100,000)
  • Refuse and recyclable material collectors (35.8 deaths per 100,000)
  • Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers (26.0 deaths per 100,000)
  • Structural iron and steel workers (25.2 deaths per 100,000)
  • Driver/sales workers and truck drivers (23.4 deaths per 100,000)
  • Electrical power-line installers and repairers (19.2 deaths per 100,000)
  • 10. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (17.9 deaths per 100,000)
• Reducing the number and seriousness of injuries and illnesses in the workplace


  1. Anticipation

  2. Recognition

  3. Evaluation

  4. Control
• Anticipation


  Foresight to envision future adverse events and take action to prevent them
• Recognition


  Surveillance and monitoring of the workforce for injuries and illnesses, including near misses
• Evaluation


  Assessment of the data that were collected during the recognition and monitoring activities
• Control


  Changes in the production process to make it safer, changes in the work environment to make it safer, or improvements in personal protective equipment
• Data from: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015). Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2014.
• Control


  Changes in the production process to make it safer, changes in the work environment to make it safer, or improvements in the use of personal protective equipment or apparel to protect individual workers
• Types of Occupational Illnesses


  • Musculoskeletal Disorders
  • Skin Diseases and Disorders
  • Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
  • Respiratory Disorders
• Musculoskeletal Disorders


  The most frequently reported occupational disorders, including both acute and chronic injury to muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, joints, bones, and supporting vasculature
• Skin Diseases and Disorders


  The skin serves as the target organ for disease, or it may be the route through which toxic chemicals enter the worker's body. Occupational skin disorders include allergic and irritant dermatitis, eczema, rash, oil acne, chrome ulcers, and chemical burns.
• Noise-Induced Hearing Loss


  A form of repeated trauma, most cases reported are within the manufacturing sector
• Respiratory Disorders


  The lungs can be both the target organ of disease and a portal of entry for toxic substances. Occupational respiratory disorders are the result of the inhalation of toxic substances present in the workplace.
• Preventing and controlling occupational diseases requires the vigilance of employer and employee alike and the assistance of governmental agencies.
• Coordinated programs to monitor and reduce occupational hazards require professionally trained personnel who work with employers and employees to reduce the number and seriousness of workplace injuries and illnesses.