Disparities in occupational health services: an international comparative study

Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology

Research

Lilah Rinsky‑Halivni¹  Oren Zack²  Dan Slodownik³  Ayala Olga Krakov⁴  Shlomo Moshe⁴  Oren Y. Sagiv⁴  Deborah Alperovitch-Najenson⁵  Rachel Raanan⁶ 

[1] The Department of Occupational Medicine, Jerusalem District, Clalit Health Services, Jerusalem, Israel;Department, Braun School of Public Health, Family Medicine, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel;Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA;The Environmental and Occupational Department, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel;The Environmental and Occupational Department, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel;The Department of Dermatology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel;The Environmental and Occupational Department, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel;The Department of Occupational Medicine, Jerusalem and HaShfela District, Maccabi Healthcare Services, Rishon Letzion, Israel;The Environmental and Occupational Department, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel;The Department of Physical Therapy, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel;The Environmental and Occupational Department, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel;The Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel;

关键词: Occupational health services;    Occupational physicians;    Disparity in occupational medicine;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12995-023-00386-2

 received in 2023-04-15, accepted in 2023-08-17,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundOccupational Health Services (OHS) are comprehensive, multidisciplinary services supplied by various trained workers, including occupational physicians (OP), whose specialty is focused on workers’ health.AimsOur study questions are whether the OP/worker ratio may reflect the scope and availability of OHS.MethodsThis comparative study, conducted on globally different OHS, was based on literature analysis of peer-reviewed articles published in journals covering topics of occupational medicine and public health that addressed parameters on the type and scope of OHS provision.ResultsWe described the number of OP/worker ratio, and the correlation to economic parameters (Gross domestic product—GDP, health expenditure, Gini Index—GI) by country. We found that among countries with a GDP per capita higher than US$30,000, only three (US, South Korea and Israel) had a very low OP/worker ratio (about 1:50,000 compared to 1:5,000 in other countries). Looking at all the countries together, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between health expenditure percentage of GDP per capita and OP/worker ratio (rs = -0.54, p = 0.01) and a significant positive correlation between GI and OP/worker ratio (rs = 0.47, p = 0.04).ConclusionsThe lesser the percentage of health expenditure of GDP and the subsequent greater general inequality as reflected by the GI, the lower the OP/worker ratio. The data collected in our comparative study show that the OP/worker ratio is a parameter both easy to define and obtain which best represents the status and disparity of OHS in each country.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

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