Typical drawbacks in sanitary and hygienic characteristics of labor conditions submitted for the examination of the relation of diseases with an occupation in medical workers

Abstract

Introduction. This article presents typical drawbacks in the sanitary-hygienic characteristics of working conditions, aimed at examining the relationship of the disease with the occupation among medical workers for the period 2000-2017 in the North-West Federal District, and making it difficult to conduct this examination with a positive outcome for the patient. Ways to eliminate these drawbacks are proposed.The purpose of the study is to establish the main typical drawbacks of the operational conditions there when compiling the sanitary-hygienic characteristics and hindering the establishment of a causal relationship between the disease and the occupation in medical workers when resolving expert issues, suggest ways to address them.Material and methods. Based on the materials of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Scientific Center for Hygiene and Public Health and the Centers for Occupational Pathology (COP) of the subjects of the Northwestern Federal District of the Russian Federation (NWFD), a retrospective analysis of a sample of case histories of patients with established occupational diseases (n = 227) and unidentified cases (n = 32) employed in medical institutions of the North-Western Federal District and sent to the COP to examine the relationship between the disease and the occupation. Between 2000 and 2017 259 medical workers were sent to the central control center on the territory of the NWFD for the examination of the relationship between the disease and the occupation, 32 were not found to have a causal relationship with the occupational activity.Results. The analysis of sanitary and hygienic characteristics indicates an insufficient objective assessment of the operational conditions of medical workers. In most cases, the compilers of these characteristics did not critically transfer data from the documentation for a special assessment of operational conditions into them and did not take into account the leading role of the biological factor in shaping the risk of occupational pathology.Conclusion. To correct the situation, serious optimization of both the regulatory framework and the working methods of the Federal Service for Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare institutions, as well as other structures involved in assessing working conditions in healthcare institutions, is required.