Medical Safety & Global Health
Open Access

Role of Risk Evaluation and Health Hazards on Occupational Safety and Health in the Work Place

Amy Carlo^{* *}Correspondence: Amy Carlo, Department of Occupational Safety and Health, University of Qom, Qom, Iran, Email:

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Description

Occupational health deals with all elements of health and safety in the workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards according to the World Health Organization (WHO). "A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not only the absence of disease or disability" is the definition of health. The goal of the multidisciplinary medical area known as occupational health is to help people work in ways that are least harmful to their health. It is in line with the advocacy for workplace health and safety, which is focused on preventing injury from dangers.

Healthcare and social assistance

Healthcare professionals are exposed to a variety of risks that could harm their health and wellbeing. Risk factors for illness and injury among these workers include long hours, shifting shifts, physically taxing duties, violence, and exposure to infectious diseases and hazardous chemicals. The most frequent health risk for healthcare professionals and for all industries is musculoskeletal injury. By employing the appropriate body mechanics, injuries can be avoided. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 253,700 work-related illnesses and injuries were reported by U.S. hospitals in 2011. This equates to 6.8 work-related illnesses and injuries for every 100 full-time employees, injury and illness rates that are greater than those of hospitals.

Safety and health hazards

Hazards, risks, outcomes: Depending on the region, several terms are used in Occupatinal Safety and Health (OSH). A hazard is anything that could be harmful if not controlled. The damage brought on by an uncontrolled hazard is the outcome.

The likelihood that a specific outcome will occur and the seriousness of the harm involved combine to form a risk. In other fields, terms like "hazard," "risk," and "outcome" are used to express things like environmental harm or equipment damage. Yet, "harm" in the context of OSH often refers to the temporary or permanent impairment of a worker's physical, mental, or social wellbeing. For instance, it is dangerous to repeatedly handle heavy goods by hand. A musculoskeletal condition or an acute back or joint injury could result from the situation. Numbers can be used to express the risk.

Risk evaluation

Contemporary occupational safety and health regulations typically require a risk assessment to be done before an intervention is made. It should be remembered that risk management calls for managing risk to a level that is as low as is practically possible. This evaluation should 1. Determine the risks; 2. Identify those who may be impacted by the risk and how; 3. Assess the risk; 4. Determine and rank the most effective preventive actions. The possibility or probability that the harm will really occur and the seriousness of the repercussions is used to calculate risk. Mathematically, this can be described as a quantitative assessment (by using integers to assign low, medium, and high likelihood and severity and multiplying them to get a risk factor) or qualitatively, as a description of the circumstances under which the injury could occur. The evaluation must be documented and examined on a regular basis and anytime there is a sizable modification to working procedures. The assessment ought to offer doable suggestions for limiting the risk. The risk should be re-calculated to see if it has been reduced to an acceptable level once the suggested controls are applied. Newly implemented controls should, in general, reduce risk by one level, moving it from high to medium or from medium to low.