Health surveillance for occupational asthma in the UK.
Occup Med (Lond)
; 66(5): 365-70, 2016 Jul.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27085190
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Periodic health surveillance (HS) of workers can identify early cases of occupational asthma. Information about its uptake and its content in the UK is lacking.AIMS:
To identify the overall levels of uptake and quality of HS for occupational asthma within three high-risk industry sectors in the UK.METHODS:
A telephone survey of employers, and their occupational health (OH) professionals, carried out in three sectors with exposures potentially capable of causing occupational asthma (bakeries, wood working and motor vehicle repair).RESULTS:
A total of 457 organizations participated (31% response rate). About 77% employed <10 people, 17% between 10 and 50 and 6% >50. Risk assessments were common (67%) and 14% carried out some form of HS for occupational asthma, rising to 19% if only organizations reporting asthma hazards and risks were considered. HS was carried out both by in-house (31%) and external providers (69%). Organizational policies were often used to define HS approaches (80%), but infrequently shared with the OH provider. OH providers described considerable variation in practice. Record keeping was universal, but worker-held records were not reported. HS tools were generally developed in-house. Lung function was commonly measured, but only limited interpretation evident. Referral of workers to local specialist respiratory services was variable.CONCLUSIONS:
This study provided new insights into the real world of HS for occupational asthma. We consider that future work could and should define simpler, more practical and evidence-based approaches to HS to ensure maximal consistency and use of high-quality approaches.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Asma
/
Exposição Ocupacional
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Poluentes Ocupacionais do Ar
/
Doenças Profissionais
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2016
Tipo de documento:
Article