Curriculum for General Practice - The Royal New Zealand College ...

G Health and Work
Health and Work
Good work is good for health and
wellbeing – it may encourage physical
activity, it provides a sense of community,
it reduces poverty and social exclusion
and aids recovery from illness and injury.
Conversely, unemployment has a negative
impact on physical and mental health for
the individual and their dependent family/
whānau members.
The importance of the health benefits of work has been
reinforced by recent international research exploring the
subject. It has been acknowledged as relevant in New
Zealand by Government, employers, unions, insurers and
health care providers and their professional bodies. 1,2,3,4
A worker’s environment can impact on their health, for
example noise-induced hearing loss, and also the impact
of health on work, for example working with a disability.
Not a day goes by in general practice that you do not see
a worker, someone who could be working or people who
have had work influence their health. General practitioners,
in partnership with patients and their family/whānau, should
weigh up the risks and benefits of being in work, being in
work with modifications or being off work.
There are many health conditions that a general practitioner
needs to be aware of that may relate to work exposures.
These include well-known occupational diseases, such
as the asbestos lung diseases, occupational asthma and
zoonoses, which are encountered by a general practitioner
occasionally. However, most health conditions and many
treatments prescribed have the potential to impact on a
person’s capacity to work.
Awareness of a patient’s work environment, interactions
and exposures can be critical to providing quality health
care and may avoid needless disability. Initial enquiry may
be as simple as asking ‘what do you do at work?’
1
Black, C. 2008. Working for a healthier tomorrow: Dame Carol Black’s review of the health of Britain’s working age population. Norwich: The Stationery Office.
2
Waddell G, Burton A. 2006. Is work good for your health and well-being? London, UK: The Stationery Office.
3
Australasian Faculty of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. New Zealand Consensus statement on the health benefits of work. Royal Australasian College of
Physicians. http://www.racp.edu.au/index.cfm?objectid=57063EA7-0A13-1AB6-E0CA75D0CB353BA8
4
Australasian Faculty of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Position Statement on the Health Benefits of Work. The Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
http://www.racp.edu.au/index.cfm?objectid=F07790EC-0F2D-D1EB-4298E5D44500162A
5
PricewaterhouseCoopers. 2008. Accident Compensation Corporation New Zealand Scheme Review. Wellington.
6
NZ Statistics, 2006. 2012. Ministry of Social Development, Wellington.
7
Office of the Auditor General. 2011. Public entities’ progress in implementing the Auditor-General’s recommendations Chapter 6. Wellington: Office of the Auditor General.
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Curriculum for General Practice