Occupational Health in Community Health Centers: Practitioner Challenges and Recommendations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Liebman AK ; Simmons JM ; Sokas RK
• Description:
  Primary care clinicians may be the only source of occupational healthcare for many low-wage, high-risk workers who experience disproportionate occupational hazards. The authors explored barriers to providing occupational healthcare and recommendations for overcoming these challenges. The team conducted six focus groups and eleven key-informant interviews in two community health centers and among clinicians, community health workers, and other personnel from similar settings. Clinicians reported not utilizing occupational information during clinical encounters and identified competing priorities, limited appointment time, and lack of training as key barriers. They cited workers' compensation as a source of confusion and frustration. However, most participants recognized occupation as an important social determinant of health and expressed interest in additional training and resources. Participants agreed that referral mechanisms for occupational medicine specialists and worker centers and changes in quality performance measures and electronic health records would be useful and that workers' compensation and immigration policies need reform. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Community Health Services Emigration And Immigration Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Immigrant Workers Community Health Immigrant Workers Migrant Health Occupational Health Occupational Health Services Occupational Medicine Primary Care Special Populations Vulnerable Populations Workers' Compensation Workers Compensation

  More +
• ISSN:
  1048-2911
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  110-130
• Volume:
  28
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068846
• Citation:
  New Solut 2018 May; 28(1):110-130
• Contact Point Address:
  Juliana M. Simmons, Bel Air, Migrant Clinicians Network, MD 21014, USA
• Email:
  jsimmons@migrantclinician.org
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  Migrant Clinicians Network
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3f1d5b67a27ae6b3fd2d6ff64d2d8fe194ba14ce93f180be10b005223881e300b7887ac481f8273282fbd3b15b2780126f0f0ea6a53dd0fd68573d5ce1886c6b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207420/cdc_207420_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 163.16 KB ]