Health surveillance at workplace
Exposure to workplace hazards can cause temporary or permanent health issues in workers. Hence it is important to identify and mitigate the risk of hazards in workplace.
Noise, for example, is a workplace hazard, that can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss and hence is an ideal candidate for workplace health surveillance.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines OH health surveillance as: ‘The ongoing systematic collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of data for the purpose of prevention. Surveillance is essential to the planning, implementation and evaluation of OH programmes and to the control of work-related ill health and injuries, as well as to the protection and promotion of workers’ health. Occupational health surveillance includes workers’ health surveillance and working environment surveillance’ (ILO, 1998).
OH surveillance usually takes the form of a periodic clinical screening and/or medical examination of an individual who may be exposed to harmful substances or physical hazards at work that may affect their health. The tests need to be standardised and reproducible.
Example: Noise is a physical hazard and hearing loss can be measured, and audiometry is a measurable and reproducible testing procedure – so it is an ideal candidate for health surveillance.
Hearing damage caused by exposure to noise is permanent and incurable. It is usually gradual in onset and can result in deafness when combined with gradual hearing loss in old age.
An Occupational Health program should have Health Serveillance as an in-built component!
