Roles of state and local health departments

Details

• Personal Author:
  Davis, Letitia
• Description:
  Since the passage of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in 1970, OSHA and state labor departments that enforce workplace health and safety standards have corne to be seen by the public as the government agencies with primary responsibility for worker safety and health at the state and local levels. These regulatory agencies playa central and essential function in protecting worker health. However, enforcement of workplace safety and health regulations is only one component of a comprehensive public health approach to workplace health and safety. State public health agencies have a critical, complementary role to play in conducting surveillance of work-related diseases and injuries, investigating occupational health problems in the community, and implementing prevention activities to protect workers' health. Most adults and many adolescents spend much of their waking lives at work. It is essential to consider the impact of work on health in the overall effort to protect the health of the public. At the turn of the 19th century, the health of workers was a central concern of the social reform movement to improve public health. Working conditions and other determinants of health, such as housing and sanitation, were seen as inextricably linked. In the 20th century, occupational health fell off the public health agency agenda in many states. The passage of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970 was a public health victory, but regulation and enforcement is only one component of a comprehensive public health approach to worker safety and health. In the 21st century, we must integrate occupational health into mainstream public health practice at the state and local levels, by building occupational health capacity within state agencies, as well as new partnerships among health agencies and occupational health experts and advocates in the community. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Education Epidemiology Health Promotion Men Occupational Health Preventive Medicine Public Health Safety Safety Management Staff Development Women Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Adolescents Health-programs Health-protection Humans Injury-prevention Occupational-medicine Preventive-medicine Public-health Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Safety-practices Safety-programs Surveillance-programs Training Work-environment Workers

  More +
• ISBN:
  9780875530437
• Publisher:
  American Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Book
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  63-72
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20042557
• Citation:
  Preventing occupational disease and injury, second edition. Levy BS, Wagner GR, Rest KM, Weeks JL, eds. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 2005 Jan; :63-72
• Editor(s):
  Levy BS; Wagner GR; Rest KM; Weeks JL.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health - Boston
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010701
• Source Full Name:
  Preventing occupational disease and injury, second edition
• End Date:
  20060630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c7e71877a6ad384a581ba90f21eb1c1985a53893e51ace93f8359613cdb65c2e1cdb76dad1de9a5a3bd38b03b16c26d3c3653e9a4b16e7827cd5c82a9def443d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194744/cdc_194744_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.38 MB ]