Occupational Health Information System Research Articles

Systematizing Information Use to Address Determinants of Health Worker Health in South Africa: A Cross-sectional Mixed Method Study

BackgroundRecognizing that access to safe and healthy working conditions is a human right, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for specific occupational safety and health (OSH) programs for health workers (HWs). The WHO health systems’ building blocks, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), highlight the importance of information as part of effective systems. This study examined how OSH stakeholders access, use, and value an occupational health information system (OHIS). MethodsA cross-sectional survey of OSH stakeholders was conducted as part of a larger quasi experimental study in four teaching hospitals. The study hospitals and participants were purposefully selected and data collected using a modified questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative analysis was conducted and themes identified for qualitative analysis. Ethics approval was provided by the University of Pretoria and University of British Columbia. ResultsThere were 71 participants comprised of hospital managers, health and safety representatives, trade unions representatives and OSH professionals. At least 42% reported poor accessibility and poor timeliness of OHIS for decision-making. Only 50% had access to computers and 27% reported poor computer skills. When existing, OHIS was poorly organized and needed upgrades, with 85% reporting the need for significant reforms. Only 45% reported use of OHIS for decision-making in their OSH role. ConclusionGiven the gap in access and utilization of information needed to protect worker’s rights to a safe and healthy workplace, more attention is warranted to OHIS development and use as well as education and training in South Africa and beyond.

A cross-sectional study on informatization construction about occupational health in China

Objective: To understand the current situation of the construction of occupational health information system in China and put forward countermeasures and suggestions for the construction of occupational health information system. Methods: In November 2019 and April 2020, a cross-sectional survey was conducted on the occupational health information systems of national, provincial and some central enterprises. A total of 57 occupational health information systems were investigated, including 4 national systems, 44 provincial systems and 9 industrial systems. The terminal type, main function, construction type, user classification and main authority, computer terminal structure, data collection mode, data transmission mode, data docking are analyzed. Results: The four national level systems all adopt B/S structure, and all transmit network data through computer terminals. The main data acquisition mode is online acquisition and external system docking. Among the 44 provincial-level systems, 41 (93.18%) were self built systems, 75.00% (33/44) were computer terminals, and 90.91% (40/44) were B/s structures; 17 (38.64%) systems used multiple data acquisition methods; 13.64% (6/44) systems used multiple data transmission methodsand the main way of data transmission method is network report (88.64%, 39/44) ; 84.09% (37/44) of the system network access mode was Internet mode. Among the nine industry systems, 66.67% (6/9) of them deployed servers in the form of self built computer rooms, 77.78% (7/9) of them supported docking and reserved ports; 66.67% (6/9) of them used computer terminals, and 100.00% (9/9) of them used B/S structure; 77.78% (7/9) of them used manual filling for data collection. Conclusion: The construction of occupational health information system in China has many problems, such as scattered and separate construction, and lack of effective data sharing between related systems, it＇s urgent to unify the standard and plan as a whole.

Incidence and trend of occupational diseases in Ningbo, China, from 2006 to 2015

Objective: To investigate the incidence, distribution features, and incidence trend of occupational diseases in Ningbo, China, from 2006 to 2015. Methods: In February 2016, the data on occupational disease report cards in the occupational disease and occupational health information system from 2006 to 2015 were collected to perform a comprehensive analysis of the types, incidence trend, population characteristics, and enterprise characteristics of occupational diseases. Results: There were 845 new cases of occupational diseases in Ningbo from 2006 to 2015, among which 596 (70.53%) were pneumoconiosis; there were 445 (74.66%) cases of stage I pneumoconiosis, 73 (12.25%) cases of stage II pneumoconiosis, and 78 (13.09%) cases of stage III pneumoconiosis; silicosis (59.76%) was the most common type of pneumoconiosis. Of all patients with occupational diseases, 84.97% were male, 64.50%were aged 35-55 years, and 63.67% had 5-20 working years. Most of the patients with occupational diseases worked in small and medium-sized private (or foreign) enterprises; the most common industries were black metal smelting and rolling (38.76%) , construction (17.11%) , and non-metallic ore mining (13.09%) . A total of 51.28%, 10.26%, and 7.69% of the patients with occupational poisoning worked in the electric apparatus manufacturing industry, furniture manufacturing industry, and chemical raw material and chemical product manufacturing industry, respectively. The cases of occupational diseases are mainly distributed in Yuyao City (24.62%) , Yinzhou District (23.91%) , and Ninghai County (15.62%) . Conclusion: Pneumoconiosis is the most common type of occupational disease in Ningbo and most of these patients work in small and medium-sized private (or foreign) enterprises. The supervision of small and medium-sized private enterprises should be enhanced to protect workers' health.

Tool, weapon, or white elephant? A realist analysis of the five phases of a twenty-year programme of occupational health information system implementation in the health sector

BackgroundAlthough information systems (IS) have been extensively applied in the health sector worldwide, few initiatives have addressed the health and safety of health workers, a group acknowledged to be at high risk of injury and illness, as well as in great shortage globally, particularly in low and middle-income countries.MethodsAdapting a context-mechanism-outcome case study design, we analyze our team’s own experience over two decades to address this gap: in two different Canadian provinces; and two distinct South African settings. Applying a realist analysis within an adapted structuration theory framing sensitive to power relations, we explore contextual (socio-political and technological) characteristics and mechanisms affecting outcomes at micro, meso and macro levels.ResultsTechnological limitations hindered IS usefulness in the initial Canadian locale, while staffing inadequacies amid pronounced power imbalances affecting governance restricted IS usefulness in the subsequent Canadian application. Implementation in South Africa highlighted the special care needed to address power dynamics regarding both worker-employer relations (relevant to all occupational health settings) and North–south imbalances (common to all international interactions). Researchers, managers and front-line workers all view IS implementation differently; relationships amongst the workplace parties and between community and academic partners have been pivotal in determining outcome in all circumstances. Capacity building and applying creative commons and open source solutions are showing promise, as is international collaboration.ConclusionsThere is worldwide consensus on the need for IS use to protect the health workforce. However, IS implementation is a resource-intensive undertaking; regardless of how carefully designed the software, contextual factors and the mechanisms adopted to address these are critical to mitigate threats and achieve outcomes of interest to all parties. Issues specific to IS development, including technological support and software licensing models, can also affect outcome and sustainability – especially in the North–south context. Careful attention must be given to power relations between the various stakeholders at macro, meso and micro levels when implementing IS. North–South-South collaborations should be encouraged. Governance as well as technological issues are crucial determinants of IS application, and ultimately whether the system is seen as a tool, weapon, or white elephant by the various involved parties."You may call me a fool, But was there a rule The weapon should be turned into a tool? And what do we see? The first tool I step on Turned into a weapon. - Robert Frost""White (albino) elephants were regarded as holy in ancient times in Thailand and other Asian countries. Keeping a white elephant was a very expensive undertaking, since the owner had to provide the elephant with special food and provide access for people who wanted to worship it. If a Thai King became dissatisfied with a subordinate, he would give him a white elephant. The gift would, in most cases, ruin the recipient. - The Phrase Finder"

Data Base Management System For Tracking Occupational Health

An Occupational Health Information System (OHIS), a data base management system for tracking occupational health, has been developed. A primary feature is its ability to correlate employee workplace environment with health. Hardware implementation of OHIS is on a minicomputer with application programs written in ANSI standard MUMPS language. OHIS integrates personnel, medical and industrial hygiene/toxicology information into one data base. The personnel module is comprised of demographic information collected and updated by the personnel department. The medical module utilizes an interactive video display terminal (VDT)-driven questionnaire and multiphasic testing subsystems which are accessed selectively by authorized users. The backbone of OHIS is a parameter dictionary of all possible data elements. A final medical report includes a medical history summary, physical findings and X-ray interpretation, highlighted and normal test findings, computer interpretations, and a final one-page summary of problem and health-risk information. Information characterizing the workplace environment is captured and reported by the questionnaire subsystem. This questionnaire is designed to define: 1) monitoring conditions, 2) sample analysis, 3) measurement results, and 4) personal protective equipment used. These data provide a means of assigning environmental exposure measurements to appropriate employees.

Data Base Management System For Tracking Occupational Health

Abstract There is growing interest in the field of occupational medicine concerning employee health. This interest has been prompted by responsible corporate management as well as to the passage of Federal Legislation. An Occupational Health Information System (OHIS) has been developed to perform data base management functions for tracking employee health. OHIS is comprised of 3 modules which contain personnel, medical, and industrial hygiene/toxicology information. Each module contains information which is integrated into one data base. A dictionary system defining all possible data elements provides powerful analysis and reporting of selected data keys. The present system not only enhances health care delivery by virtue of its reporting and data management capabilities, but provides powerful data analysis capabilities which are otherwise impossible by manual recordkeeping systems.