Basic occupational health services (BOHS) in community primary care: the MSF (Dhaka) model.
The Médecins Sans Frontiérs (MSF) established basic occupational health services to diagnose and treat work-related diseases among tannery, metal, plastics and garment workers and families in one of the more polluted areas of the world populated by 600 000 people. In spite of project limitations, an analysis of the 6-month data showed that of the original cohort of 5000, 3200 (64%) came for at least 1 consultation. Among them, 468 (14.6%) were diagnosed with suspected work-related diseases as per defined protocols. Follow-up consultation was performed for 1447 cases of occupational diseases and work-related injuries. The MSF experience begs the need for replication of such services in densely populated urban areas in developing nations like Bangladesh and India, where no specialty occupational health clinics exist in primary care but are desperately needed and where occupational health clinics on factory premises are exclusive to industry workers and are not accessible to communities.
Department of General Surgery, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, India.|Artsen zonder Grenzen, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands.
Venkiteswaran
V
Muralidhar
Artsen zonder Grenzen, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands.
Md Faizul
MF
Ahasan
Artsen zonder Grenzen, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands.
Ahad Mahmud
AM
Khan
Artsen zonder Grenzen, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands.
Mohammad Shariful
MS
Alam
D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D009786:Occupational Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D014505:Urban Population