OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY Promotion of worker health and safety is the goal of occupational health and safety

programs. These programs are offered primarily by the employer at the work place, but the range of services and the models for delivering them have been changing dramatically over the past few years. In addition to specific services legislation at the federal and state levels has had a significant impact on efforts to provide a healthy and safe environment for all workers. Although the initial response to this legislation was an increased use of occupational health and safety professionals, the 1980s were a time of decreased enforcement of these laws. This effect, along with economic compression and cost cutting, resulted in down-sizing. Occupational health and safety services decreased in scope in some firms and were provided by paraprofessionals such as medical technicians, licensed practical nurses, or first aiders employed as production workers in the company. Under new administration of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and increased public concern about worker health and safety, there have recently been citations of companies that do not meet minimal occupational health and safety standards. Criminal charges have been filed against business owners when preventable work-related death occurred. These events have redirected an emphasis on preventive occupational health and safety programming. Unless a company has OSHA- regulated exposures, business firms are not required to provide occupational health and safety services that meet any specified standards. With few exceptions, there is no legal mandate for specific services or level of personnel provided by employers to protect worker health and safety. Therefore, the range of services offered and the qualifications of the providers of occupational health and safety vary widely across industries. An important stimulus for health and safety programs is cost avoidance that can be attributed to the effectiveness of preventive services. Ergonomics It is a new concept in occupational health. It is concerned with human engineering. It is derived from Greek words, Ergon means work and Nomos means law. It simply means fitting the job to the worker. That means placing the worker in an environment (job), which is adopted to his physiological and psychological capacity.

The main object of ergonomics is to achieve the best mutual adjustment between the man and the machine, which are complimentary to each other, so that there is increased efficiency, increased production and decreased accidents in the industry. DEFINITION Occupational health should aim at the promotion and maintenance of highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention among workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological equipment and to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job. (WHO 1950) Man and physical, chemical, and biological environment Man and machine Man and man

Heat Physical hazards Light Noise

Vibration UV radiations Ionizing radiations

Chemical hazards

Local action Inhalation Ingestion

Biological hazards

Living organisms

Machines Mechanical Building

Industrial stress Psychosocial

AIMS

To increase the efficiency OBJECTIVES To promote the health of the workers To increase the production

To

decrease

the accidents

To maintain the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of the workers To prevent the diseases by elimination of factors which are inimical to their health THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (OSHA) The occupation and safety act became a public law in 1970.The major purpose of OSHA is to assure safe and healthy working conditions. Although the regulations were more explicitly designed to protect the employees rather than the patients, the patients do receive secondary benefits from them. The hospitals have become safer for both the employees and the patients with reduction in the frequency of work-related injuries and illnesses because of OSHA.

Some of the regulations of OSHA require. Minimizing exposure to ionizing radiation. Safeguarding exposure from instruments that emit sound or radio waves, visible light, infra-red, ultraviolet light, and non-ionizing electromagnetic radiations. Meeting the standards of electrical codes. Installing ventilation systems that maintain no more than maximum allowable concentration of atmospheric contamination from toxic and inflammable chemical vapors. Initiating procedures for safe handling, storage, and dispensing of flammable and combustible liquids. Monitoring procedures for infection control including procedures for safe handling and disposal of all types of the sharps used in the hospital, especially in the operation rooms. FUNCTIONS OSHA Determine and set standards for hazardous exposures in the workplace. Enforce the occupational health standards (including the right of entry for inspection) Educate employers about occupational health and safety. Develop and maintain a database of work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. Monitor compliance with occupational health and safety standards.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES Essential occupational health and safety measures include the following: Meticulous practice of universal precautions as a part of work culture. Provision and proper use of clothing personal protective equipments. Conducting periodic medical check-ups and health examinations. Reporting and proper maintenance of records of morbidity, accidents and injuries. Establishment of an effective occupational health program that includes immunizations of health- care personnel especially waste handlers against tetanus, typhoid, and hepatitis B; post exposure prophylactic treatment; and medical surveillance. Proper training, retraining and continued training of health workers.

 Good housekeeping/safe and hygienic laundry practices. PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS 1. Primary prevention Health promotion of workers: The workers should have a state of positive health the different measure recommended are: a. Pre-placement examination: It is the examination of the worker before employing in the occupation, to assess his physical and psychological fitness so that right person is placed in right job, thereby there will be increased efficiency, increase production and decreased accidents. Provision of healthy physical environment: Many factors in the workers environment contribute to promotion of their health and efficiency. Machine safety and process control: Accidents are common among those, who are working with unguarded, improperly installed, carelessly operated or defective machineries. Following precautionary measures should be taken. Standard machinery and equipment to be used. They are placed as to leave sufficient space all around. Machinery should be fitted with a built- in safety device. The dangerous parts of the machine must be fenced or provided with a suitable guard. Installation of the machines should be proper. Machines to be cleaned periodically. All electrical connections should be properly earthed. The manufacturing process should be so controlled so as to expose the worker to the least amount of noxious substances, e.g. providing filters to the X-ray machine. Mechanization of the plant is another aspect to protect the workers from dangers, i.e. using machines to do the work instead of worker doing it, e.g. dermatitis can be prevented if hand mixing is replaced by mechanical device, long- forceps is used to handle radioactive substances, and acids are conveyed through pipes etc. Health education: This is also an important promotive, measure. This envisages at both the levels in the industries-the worker and the management.

Worker is educated about the risks involved and the measures to be taken for selfprotection. They are also educated of personal hygiene and also the importance of maintaining a healthy social relationship with the co-workers and the management.

b. Specific protection: a. Personal protective equipments Head protection is by wearing helmet of correct size. It should not be heavy and made up of non-combustible material and non-conductor of heat and electricity. Eyes protection - is by suitable protective goggles, heat treated lenses, eye-shields, visors etc. Such equipments are needed for workers engaged in welding, works furnace work etc. Ear protection- is by using ear-plugs, ear-muffs etc, by those who are working in intensive noise room. Skin protection is by using -Protection clothes against chemicals, asbestos suit against heat, lead apron against radiation etc. -Protective ointments such as barrier creams against carcinogens, -Personal cleanliness by daily bath and frequent washing of hands with soap. -Log protection- is by using safety shoes, gum boots. -Respiratory is by using gas masks and respirators in cases of emergency and not recommended for continuous use. b. Personal health habits -Smoking and alcoholism must always be avoided -Nutrition must be adequate. -Food should never be taken in the work-room, but only in the place meant for it. -Moderate exercise like early morning walk keeps the worker healthy, active and energetic. c. Immunization: The workers should protect themselves against communicable diseases such as cholera, tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis and also against rabies among workers in the vetenery hospitals. 2. Secondary prevention:

It is early diagnosis and treatment Early diagnosis: is done by periodical medical examinations, including certain laboratory investigations and radiological examinations. This is a very important procedure because many occupational diseases develop slowly, over a long period of time. So this procedure helps to detect the disease early, especially pneumoconioses, dermatoses or cancers; the frequency of examination depends upon the type of industry. Prompt treatment: As soon as the diagnosis is made, the worker is shifted to a safer job and treated promptly to prevent the development of disability Personnel monitoring: This is especially important among those who are exposed to radiation hazards, by wearing Dosimeter on shirt collar, which gives information about the cumulative dose of the radiation the worker has received. 3. Tertiary prevention a. Disability limitation: This consists of limiting the development of further disability which occurs usually among the chronic patients and middle aged persons, by giving intensive treatment and aid to enable the worker to continue working effectively till retirement. b. Rehabilitation: Careful attention must be given to those workers who become physically handicapped during the course of their employment, either by accident or injury. Such persons are rehabilitated and given a suitable job, so that his/her psychological trauma is countered and becomes an useful person to himself, to the family and country.

JOURNAL ABSTRACT The Wright-Hinson research reports on their fifth annual global empirical study of the impact that social media and other aspects of the new technologies are having on public relations practice. Results strongly suggest the new communications media are having a dramatic impact on public relations. As has been the case with each year of this trend study, results show considerably more agreement in some areas than was the case in previous years. This years study reports that 85 percent of the public relations practitioners surveyed believe new communications media have changed the way organizations communicate. Findings continue to suggest these changes are more prominent in external than internal communications. Results

continue to show that traditional news media receive higher scores than blogs and social media in terms of accuracy, credibility, telling the truth and being ethical. Although most surveyed said that public relations practitioners should measure the impact new media are having on public relations campaigns, only a small number actually are conducting this kind of research. Work, Obesity, and Occupational Safety and Health There is increasing evidence that obesity and overweight may be related, in part, to adverse work conditions. In particular, the risk of obesity may increase in high-demand, low-control work environments, and for those who work long hours. In addition, obesity may modify the risk for vibration-induced injury and certain occupational musculoskeletal disorders. We hypothesized that obesity may also be a corisk factor for the development of occupational asthma and cardiovascular disease that and it may modify the workers response to occupational stress, immune response to chemical exposures, and risk of disease from occupational neurotoxins. We developed 5 conceptual models of the interrelationship of work, obesity, and occupational safety and health and highlighted the ethical, legal, and social issues related to fuller consideration of obesitys role in occupational health and safety.