Identifying health priorities among workers from occupational health clinic visit records: Experience from automobile industry in India

Abstract

Context: Occupational health surveillance in India, focused on notifiable diseases, relies heavily on periodic medical examination, and isolated surveys. The opportunities to identify changes in morbidity patterns utilizing data available in workplace on-site clinics is less explored in India context. Aims: Present paper describes longitudinal assessment of morbidity patterns and trends among employees seeking care in occupation health clinic (OHC). The study also intends to explore associations between work department, clinic visits and morbidity pattern. Materials and Methods: Record-based analysis was undertaken on data available (for the period 2010-2014) from two OHCs in a leading automobile industry in India. The doctor, examining every employee, documented the provisional diagnosis in specific software which in turn provides summary diagnosis based on affected body organ system as per ICD-10 categories. This information was used to assess the morbidity pattern and trend among workers. Chi-square test of significance and Extended Mantel-Haenszel chi square test was used assess the association and its linear trend. Results: Respiratory, musculoskeletal and digestive system related diseases were the top three reasons for employees visit to OHC. The nature of morbidity varied across different departments in the industry. There was a significant increase in proportion of employees visiting OHC during 2010-2014. Conclusion: A clinic visit record, with its own strengths and limitations, provides information on morbidity pattern and its trends among workers. Such information will help plan, implement and evaluate health preventive, promotive, and curative services.