Occupational Health Conference

1
Occupational Health Conference

• Workshop B
• Establishing OH Education and Research in the
  Region

Facilitators Prof. Mustafa
Khogali Prof. Tar-Ching Aw
2
Workshop format

• 4 groups (about 12 per group)
• Each with a chairperson and a scribe
• 4 questions

3
4 questions

• What is currently available?
• What would we like for teaching?
• (wish list)
• How do we get there?
• (ideas regarding process)
• What are the priority areas for research?

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Questions 1 2

• Prof. Mustafa Khogali

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Question 1 on OH teaching

• What is currently available?

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Groups views

• No comprehensive undergraduate or postgrad
  program widely available for GCC
• Oman Program for training GPs in OH at SQU 5
  day course
• UAE modules within undergrad training in
  Family Medicine residency Distance learning
  program planned

7
Groups views

• Bahrain Some OH training for doctors nurses
• Qatar Lectures to medical undergraduates
• Saudi Arabia King Faisal Uni has a Masters
  program in OH
• Other GCC countries Uncertain

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Question 2

• What would be on your wish list for OH teaching?

9
Groups views

• Teaching available in all relevant aspects of Occ
  health occ med, OH nursing, occ hygiene, safety
• OH training at different levels certificate,
  diploma, degree
• Training focused on local OH issues

10
Groups views

• Training syllabus to include
• Hazards risks in small, medium and large
  industries
• Standards (fitness, exposure, procedures)
• Best practice benchmarking
• Extent of local OH morbidity and mortality

11
Groups views

• Essential to provide CPD (Continuing professional
  development)
• Consider establishing Society for OH
  practitioners where CPD exchange of views can
  occur

12
Questions 3 4

• Prof. Tar-Ching Aw

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Question 3

• How do we get what we want?

14
Groups views

• Need support commitment from the governments at
  the highest level
• Relevant Health, safety environment (HSE)
  legislation
• Importance of GCC HSE initiatives

15
Groups views

• Resources needed
• Human (expertise)
• Finances
• Materials
• OH Data relevant to region

16
Groups views

• Establish academic training centres a single GCC
  National OH centre preferred
• Establish accreditation bodies
• Affiliation with overseas award granting bodies
  e.g. FOM, RCP
• Help from external bodies e.g. WHO, ILO

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Question 4

• What are the OH research priorities for the
  region?

18
Groups views

• OH surveillance extent of Occ diseases in GCC
• Studies on needs assessment
• Inventory of region-wide OH resources
• Cultural factors affecting health safety
  behavior
• Knowledge attitudes of the public regarding Occ
  Health

19
Groups views

• Better hygiene methods for assessing exposures
  relevant to GCC e.g. better methods for heat
  stress instead of WBGT
• Impact of expat workers subcontractors on
  health safety.
• Health safety at workforce camp sites

20
Groups views

• OH problems of NGOs SMEs
• Population norms for lung function other tests
• STDs blood-borne infections
• Musculo-skeletal, psychiatric disorders extent
  of substance abuse