FREE Webinar
Agenda:
- BOHS: Working toward Occupational health care for Informal Workers (Dr Suvarna Moti)
- Opportunities & Challenges in Basic Occupational Health Services and similar innovations in health care (Prof Frank van Dijk)
- Successes & Challenges of BOHS in Thailand (Dr Orrapan Untimanon)
- Q & A session
Chair: Dr Will Ponsonby
BOHS: Working toward Occupational health care for Informal Workers - Dr Suvarna Moti
Summary
Basic Occupational Health Services (BOHS) is a form of occupational health care, offered as part of primary or community health care, to severely deprived working populations namely, informal workers, farmers and workers in agriculture, workers in small companies and self-employed. These populations cannot be covered by expert-based occupational health services operating for large or moderate-size enterprises. Existing infrastructure of primary or community health care is used for organizing BOHS. In this way, BOHS can be an essential link in the chain fulfilling the aim of occupational health coverage for all workers. Close collaboration is sought with local working communities, unions, progressive employers, social security, and labour inspection.
In this presentation the author will talk about utilisation of this form of occupational health care delivery in India on an exploratory basis through the MISSION BOHS launched by a voluntary body of occupational health professionals in the country. This initiative in selected geographic areas supported capacity building of primary care physicians in occupational health focussing upon delivery to the informal working populations lacking this care. Vast informal industry in India provides employment for over 85 per cent of the working population and lacks a regulatory framework. There are other models referred here working for specific beneficiaries offering some elements of occupational health care. Sustainability of civil society led BOHS initiatives face challenges without regulatory and policy support highlighting the restraints due to funding, deficit of skilled capabilities and mainly, legal and administrative framework for the informal employment mirroring the situation in many parts of the globe.
Dr Suvarna Moti works as Independent Public Health Specialist with Reliance Industries advising on Global Health, Health policy and strategy in Community health & Occupational health. Dr Moti completed her post graduate training for MD, DNB in Preventive & Social Medicine at Grant Medical College, Mumbai. Later she obtained her MSc degree in Global Health Policy from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She has worked as Plant Medical Officer at Hindustan Unilever Ltd. and volunteered with UNDP HIV, Health & Development group for WHO FCTC for Tobacco Control.
Opportunities and challenges in Basic Occupational Health Services (BOHS) and similar innovations in health care. - Em. Prof. Frank van Dijk
Summary
In 2022 an online repository was publised, a database for publications about Basic Occupational Health Services (BOHS). As the term ‘basic occupational health services’ is hardly used in many countries and regions, it also included publications not using the term BOHS but describing and analyzing similar innovations in primary or community health care (PHC). The aim was to include all publications dealing with systematic efforts to organize or enhance PHC provisions supporting workers’ health issues.
In an explorative study, 131 articles in scientific journals were analysed included in the repository (2001-2022). The information on thematic issues was studied, such as the coverage of workers by BOHS (and similar efforts), the role of legislation, the presence of a comprehensive national strategy to promote occupational health care, the financing of BOHS, structural support for PHC on occupational safety and health (OSH) strategies and issues, the education and training in OSH for PHC workers, the use of a participatory approach in training, the role of a referral system, the content and quality of performed BOHS activities, and the availability of an evaluation system.
Clearly, the development, implementation, and evaluation of BOHS is a complex theme. In addition, there is a lack of data and – often - a dependency of contextual factors that are not always well described in studies. Consequently, study findings must be carefully interpreted by the reader who decides what to try in his or her own situation. Nevertheless, good studies are urgently needed. They contribute to the global discussion about relevant factors and conditions, and they can inspire new efforts in favor of the most vulnerable worker populations.
Prof Frank van Dijk is occupational physician and emeritus professor in Occupational Health at the Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands (1987-2013). Since 2014 he is working in the Learning and Developing Occupational Health (LDOH) foundation. He was member of the Health Council of the Netherlands (2015-2023) and is (co-)author of about 200 international peer-reviewed articles, reports, and books. Recent publications are the online Repository for publications on Basic Occupational Health Services (BOHS) (Van Dijk, Moti; 2022) and the e-book and learning materials Work and Health in Agriculture (Verberk, Van Dijk; 2022/23).
Successes & Challenges of BOHS in Thailand. - Dr Orrapan Untimanon
Division of Occupational and Environmental Diseases, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand.
Summary
BOHS (Basic Occupational Health Services) provided by PCUs is important because these units are close to informal workers who work in the communities and they are exposed to several occupational hazards. Currently, BOHS has been developed to increase both passive OHS such as walkthrough survey, risk assessment and control and passive OHS such as screening, diagnosis and record of occupational diseases among such workers. The aim of this talk is to describe the development of BOHS in Thailand. The situation of employed workers, informal workers and occupational hazards, OHS standards, basic occupational health online training course and occupational diseases data system will be included in the presentation.
Dr Orrapan Untimanon, is an occupational health epidemiologist by training. She has worked at the Department of Disease Control of the Bureau of Occupational and Environmental Diseases (BOED) in Bangkok, Thailand, for 17 years as a senior of professional level. Her current projects focus on the development of occupational health services provided by hospitals and primary care units and the development of occupational services for health workers.
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