Preventive Actions Taken by Workers After Workers' Health Surveillance

Boschman, Julitta S.; Molen, Henk F. van der; Frings‐Dresen, Monique H. W.; Sluiter, Judith K.

doi:10.1097/jom.0000000000000053

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 22 publications

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“…Finally, the content of occupational health care should be designed so that employees experience it as appropriate to their job and helpful in strengthening work-related health. A Dutch intervention study focusing on workers´ health surveillance for workers in the construction industry revealed positive effects of a job-specific WHS in the sense that it aided OHPs in providing workers with recommendations and workers in undertaking preventive action [ 48 ]. Similarly, a WHS program designed specifically to address work-related aspects of hospital physicians showed good feasibility and acceptability among participating hospital physicians as well as occupational health professionals and employers (medical managers) [ 49 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uptake of Voluntary Occupational Health Care—Assessments of German Occupational Health Physicians and Employees

Michaelis

Preiser

Voelter-Mahlknecht

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Workers’ health surveillance is considered essential for employees’ health and protection against hazardous working conditions. It is one part of occupational health care and thus one of four pillars of holistic workplace health management. In Germany, employers are obliged to provide mandatory and voluntary occupational health care (OHC) to employees, dependent on the defined occupational hazards. However, employees are not obliged to make use of voluntary OHC. No empirical information is available about the uptake of voluntary OHC by employees and the influencing factors in Germany. Thus, we carried out an explorative multi-perspective study with qualitative and quantitative elements to get insights from the view of occupational health physicians (OHPs) and employees. We conducted a survey among OHPs based on prior statements from two focus group discussions. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to detect enablers and barriers regarding employee uptake of the offered voluntary OHC. We used extended qualitative methods among employees instead of an analogous survey. In total, 460 OHPs participated in the survey (response rate 29.1%), and 25 employees took part in interviews. Most of the employees had not heard the term voluntary OHC before, and only a few remembered respective occupational health care after explanatory request. In total, 78% of the OHPs assessed that employees always/mostly take up voluntary OHC. The most important attributed reason for non-uptake was that employees see no need for occupational health care when they feel healthy. The most important enabler for the perceived high uptake of voluntary OHC in the regression analysis was a positive attitude of the OHP toward voluntary OHC. While OHPs perceived that voluntary OHC was accepted by a majority of employees, this was not confirmed by the interviews with selected employees. This could indicate that the OHP respondents overestimated the amount of uptake. Since it became clear that employees are often unfamiliar with the terminology itself, we see a need for more and better information regarding the objectives and content of occupational health care to improve this important pillar of workplace health management.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%