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Nursing Assessment of the Occupational Environment.

Kuhar MB

NIOSH 1987 Jul:113-115

00173336

The role of the occupational health nurse in assessing the occupational environment was described. Occupational health nurses traditionally have been involved in health care by providing on site care for workers who become ill or injured while at work. It is noted that since the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 the concept of occupational health has expanded to emphasize health maintenance and preventive care. This includes providing a safe and healthy work environment. Since occupational health nurses as part of their professional practice obtain employee health histories, it is suggested that the occupational health nurse extend the principles involved in obtaining a medical history and apply it to evaluating the work environment. A walk through survey is considered one of the best ways of evaluating the occupational environment. Procedures for conducting a walk through survey and their analogues in obtaining an employee health history were described. The author recommends that walk through surveys be conducted on a regular basis, at least once a month. This enables the occupational health nurse to determine if recommendations made in previous surveys are being followed, if additional changes in the work environment have occurred, or if any new hazards have developed.

Occupational-health-nursing; Industrial-hygiene; Health-protection; Workplace-studies; Health-care-personnel; Legislation; Epidemiology;

19870701

Conference/Symposia Proceedings;

Horvitz IA;

1987

Proceedings of the National Occupational Health Nursing Symposium: State of the Art and Directions for the Future, Cincinnati, Ohio, June 1-3, 1983

OH;