Contemporary Occupational Health Nursing: A Guide for Practitioners

by Greta Thornbory (Editor), Susanna Everton (Editor)

Overview

This textbook – now thoroughly revised and updated – provides a practical guide for those in training, or practising within, occupational health nursing. Concerned with the health of people at work and the effects of work on health and health on work, this distinctive branch of public health nursing requires specific knowledge and skills.

Contemporary Occupational Health Nursing includes chapters on: public health, leadership, health promotion and protection, health surveillance, health assessment, case management and rehabilitation, mental health, management of occupational health services and epidemiology and research, quality assurance and audit. The second edition includes additional content on health risk assessment and the Fit for Work Service, occupational health management systems, psychosocial factors and mindfulness, among other things.

Discussion of ethical issues is woven throughout and each chapter is written by an experienced occupational health nurse practitioner and includes features such as case studies, activities, learning objectives and chapter summaries. This book can be used as a text by those undertaking specialist community public health nursing qualifications and as an important resource for all nurses working in occupational health practice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781351787918
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/24/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	250
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Greta Thornbory is an occupational health care professional and a former consulting editor for Occupational Health.

Susanna Everton is an occupational health nurse adviser and chartered safety practitioner. She is currently in clinical practice and was formerly the Vice President of the Association of Occupational Health Nurse Practitioners.

Table of Contents

1. An Introduction to Occupational Health Nursing 2. Public Health 3. Leadership 4. Health promotion and Health Protection 5. Health Surveillance 6. Health assessment, case management and rehabilitation 7. Mental Health 8. Management of OH services 9. Epidemiology and research 10. Quality assurance and auditing Appendix: Resources

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Laurie Sabol, BA, MSN (Rush University College of Nursing)
Description: This is a practical guide for occupational health nurses, with templates that can be used in the clinical setting and a discussion of current issues in the broad field of occupational health. This second edition comes four years after the first, and includes material from the U.K. 2016 Green Paper on halving the disability employment gap and the exit of the U.K. from the European Union.
Purpose: The authors have compiled this book to pull together sometimes disparate information under the umbrella of occupational health. The book aims to be a resource guide for those pursuing "the health of people at work, the effects of work on health, and health on work." As local and global economies evolve, the risks employees face change. With chapters on topics such as health assessment, case management and rehabilitation, and mental health at work, the authors have compiled a useful guide, especially given that in the U.K., as well as in the U.S., there is no requirement that employers hire specialist practitioner nurses specifically trained in occupational health.
Audience: This is intended to serve as a guide for those in training or practicing in occupational health nursing. Working practitioners would find this a useful book in the office to reference the many templates that may be put to practical use. It provides a framework for those entering the field, and it serves as a collection of knowledge as the U.K. works toward the creation of a National School of Occupational Health. Edited by two longtime occupational health professionals, it includes chapters by nurses and safety practitioners currently working in occupational health in the U.K.
Features: The first part of the book discusses practical matters, such as the legal, ethical, and financial obligations of employers to provide health surveillance and includes case studies of work injuries and disability. Case management guidance is offered, including functional assessment, long-term absence management, vocational rehabilitation, and ways to support employees with disabilities. A chapter on mental health approaches employee engagement, stigma and discrimination, and includes a guide for occupational health nurses to comment on an employee's fitness to attend a disciplinary hearing. This sensitivity to the difficult issues that arise in mental health matters is evidence that these chapters have been written by professionals who have experienced these challenges directly. The 27 figures and 10 tables in the book, such as an example of a health surveillance record, risk assessment matrix, and occupational health audit tool, may be adapted by readers to their own work situations. The epidemiology and research chapter acknowledges the importance of evidence-based practice. It offers a bit of a crash course to guide occupational health professionals who may not have a strong statistics background. By explaining briefly the types of research and how to interpret the findings, it will enable those without research training to actively use and perhaps participate in research in the occupational health setting.
Assessment: While this book is written in the U.K. setting, its concepts are universally adaptable for anyone who is engaged in monitoring and supporting the health of workers, the effects of work on health, and health on work.

Doody's Review Service