Citation

Houston KM, Atkinson RG, Macdonald EB, O'Connor ME. Int. J. Health Promot. Educ. 1999; 37(3): 101-109.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Institute of Health Education)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A two phase cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to investigate the current Health Promotion, Occupational Health and Health & Safety status of industry in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The overall aim of the study was to provide suitable advice and information to organizations, to raise awareness of issues affecting the health and safety of employees and to facilitate the improvement of standards through provision of information services. The key objectives were to offer a free advisory service to industry throughout Lanarkshire, to visit workplaces to conduct a comprehensive assessment in relation to the safety and health status of the organisation and to provide a confidential report to company management on the findings of the visit. The study sample consisted of 240 companies randomly selected from lists provided by Lanarkshire Development Agency and Local Enterprise Companies. These companies were initially contacted by telephone and 74 (31%) accepted the offer of an assessment visit. The assessment service was provided by a multi-disciplinary team consisting of a Health Promotion Adviser and Health & Safety Adviser. Due to this unique skill mix the team was able to offer a comprehensive service to the industrial community. Phase one consisted of an assessment visit and within ten working days a report containing prioritized recommendations was written and returned to company management. In phase two companies were re-contacted four months after the initial visit to evaluate what actions had been taken. The follow-up was conducted using computer assisted telephone interviews (CA TI). For various reasons only 46 companies participated in this phase of the study. Results showed that, in general, large companies tended to address Health & Safety issues whilst medium and small companies focused on Health Promotion matters. In total, 145 activities were initiated and this included the development and implementation of new policies or procedures and introduction of health promotion initiatives. The findings of this study should be of interest to health professionals, employers and providers of health and safety services. It identifies an overlap of disciplines within the domain of health and outlines a model for collaborative and inter-agency working. The results show where various health and safety initiatives were introduced and the health improvements obtained for those in the industrial community.