Company representatives’ experiences of occupational health surveillance for workers exposed to hand-intensive work: A qualitative study

Abstract

Exposure assessment seldom precedes the medical health checks in occupational health surveillance. In order to emphasize the interconnection between exposure assessment and medical health checks, a process model was developed. The process model aimed to guide employers and Occupational Health Service providers through the execution of occupational health surveillance. The objective of this qualitative study is to explore company representatives’ experiences of the process model, in terms of feasibility and values, and to identify factors that facilitate or impede the process. Thirty-three company representatives from ten companies were interviewed. Interviews were analyzed using content analysis. The company representatives experienced that the model contributed to increased risk awareness and understanding of the exposure effects on workers’ health. They valued the exposure assessments performed by an ergonomics expert, which led to the discovery of previously unidentified risks. The feasibility was facilitated by: a joint start-up meeting in which the process was planned, clear communication between the involved parties, and clarity regarding the process ownership. The findings reveal that a guiding process model is valuable for the execution of occupational health surveillance. However, the model should not only define the components included; a practical guide concerning how the process can be executed is also needed.