Occupational health services in PR China
Introduction
Occupational health problems have long been part of human history. Tracking back to ancient China, sporadic incidents similar to today’s occupational health problems have been documented. For example, description of rock-crushing-related ‘lung damage’, symptoms of occupational lead poisoning, and prevention of asphyxiant intoxication, particularly at mining worksites, were recorded during the Song (1000 B.C.) and the Ming Dynasty (14–17 century).
However, as one of the disciplines of preventive medicine, occupational health started to develop in the early 1950s soon after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. To meet the needs of industrialization, occupational services in the 1950–1960 consisted of curative occupational medicine and work-related diseases, industrial hygiene for work environmental monitoring and assessment of control engineering, and industrial toxicology assaying for chemical toxicity. This period marked the origin of specialized occupational health services in the modern sense.
By the late 1970s, following economic reform and policy of opening the country, the structures and activities of occupational health were further developed to include identification, evaluation, prevention, and control of occupational hazards at work as most of the industrialized countries adopted. Gradually, modern occupational health has developed to cover not only the prevention of traditional occupational diseases and work-related disorders with the help of occupational hygiene, occupational medicine, and industrial toxicology, but also the ergonomic aspects of the work environment and the work organization, psychological stress at work, as well as the primary health care for general health problems. Therefore, it brings us a more clear sense of occupational health that aims at the recognition, evaluation, and control of work-related diseases where the working conditions, together with the general environment of living, play a role in causation and which are susceptible to control by preventive measures taken at an early stage through appropriate occupational health services integrated with primary health care. This holistic approach strives toward the WHO global goal of ‘Occupational Health for All’, and will eventually be beneficial to the sustainable economy growth and social development of the nation.
This presentation provides our views of the emerging concerns of occupational health and safety problems, the latest development of occupational health and safety legislations, the general scenario of organizational structure and function of occupational health services in China, and future perspectives aimed at further improvement of occupational health and safety in China. It attempts to share with participants both our experience and lesson learned toward creating a transparent and effective channel of ideas and information exchange.
Section snippets
Emerging occupational health situation concerns
In the past 25 years, China has made considerable progress in improving its overall living standards and the quality of working life. Total health expenditure per capita was up from US$ 9.4 in 1981 and US$ 13.6 in 1990, to US$ 50.5 (RMB 403.6) in 2001, and life expectancy has increased from 57 years in 1957 to 72 years in 2000.
Despite the overall positive aspects of health development, some recent concerns about occupational health and safety are emerging, as China today is undergoing a unique
The new law on the prevention and control of occupational diseases
The Occupational Diseases Prevention and Control Act of the People’s Republic of China (ODPC-Act) is the first comprehensive law on occupational health adopted at the national level (Occupational Diseases Prevention and Control Act, 2001). It was approved by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in 2001, and brought into effect on 1 May 2002. Similar to the impact that the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH-Act) had on occupational health and safety issues in the
Provisions of occupational health services
Since 2000, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) have been gradually founded in China, based on the original three-tiered system of health and disease control, known as Health and Anti-epidemic Station. The Institute of Occupational Health and Poisoning Control under China CDCP, and its subordinated institutions at various levels are responsible for providing occupational health services and technical supports to preventive control measures, medical surveillance, and on-job
Further enforcement of the ODPC-Act
The new ODPC-Act and OELs signify our government’s commitment to improve the workplace environment and to eradicate preventable occupational diseases. However, the effectiveness of the new regulations will depend not only on implementation but also on communication and education. The emerging challenge will be to get the new law to the small makeshifts or crudely converted workshops in villages and small towns in rural areas by a long-term perspective of communication, education, and applicable
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