Australian & New Zealand Occupational Health Value Proposition
ANZSOM launches Occupational Health: Adding Value document
ANZSOM is pleased to launch the Occupational Health: Adding Value evidence report, which will form the basis of ongoing efforts to promote the value of occupational health services and interventions in Australia and New Zealand. The document is based on the Society of Occupational Medicine’s Occupational health: the value proposition authored by Dr Paul Nicholson OBE, and has been adapted to the Australian and New Zealand context.
The report highlights the importance and value of occupational health to workers, employers, insurers, governments, and the general population. It describes the key elements of occupational health, including the types of health professionals and their roles, and analyses the evidence from the scientific and wider literature to demonstrate that there is a rounded business case for investment in occupational health services, based on wide-ranging and sometimes intangible factors.
ANZSOM acknowledges the considerable work of our working group who have thoughtfully compiled relevant data to help build a case for occupational health locally. The group comprises:
- Dr Mary Obele (New Zealand), Occupational and Environmental Physician
- Associate Professor Euan Thompson, Consultant Occupational and Environmental Physician (Western Australia)
- Dr Azhar Khan, Occupational Physician (New South Wales)
- Dr Harry Chow, AFOEM Occupational Medicine Trainee (Victoria)
The group has been supported by Fiona Landgren, Manager of the ANZSOM Secretariat.
The work has been championed by current President Dr Dominic Yong and Immediate Past President Melinda Miller, who was instrumental in establishing the Model of Collaboration with the Society of Occupational Medicine.
Next steps
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The ANZSOM website content will continue to be developed to serve as a source of information for members and stakeholders
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Summary documents will be developed to help communicate the value of occupational health to employers and workers
- Case studies demonstrating the value of occupational health will be compiled with input from members
- The ANZSOM ASM will encourage continued conversations and contribution of evidence on the issue
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ANZSOM webinars will provide a vehicle for ongoing engagement with ANZSOM members about how to demonstrate and communicate about the value of occupational health
Contribute to this project
If you would like to volunteer to be an ongoing part of this project, or if you have feedback regarding the Occupational Health: Adding Value document, please contact the ANZSOM Secretariat (secretariat@anzsom.org.au). We are particularly keen to receive case studies and/or ideas about implementation.
Watch the Occupational Health Value Proposition Launch at ANZSOM ASM2022
Other resources
The Value of Occupational Health and Human Resources in Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace
This new report encourages more effective interventions to support employees and colleagues in managing their mental health. The need to support employees and colleagues in managing their mental health is widely recognised, however the wide range of interventions being marketed makes it difficult for employers to know what works. This new report, aimed at employers, occupational health, and human resources professionals, seeks to “cut through the noise” and identifies what really works.
Written by Dr Kevin Teoh, from Birkbeck, University of London and compiled by the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) and the CIPD, the report provides guidance on how to better manage workplace mental health and wellbeing. It offers information on how to design programmes and interventions for organisations. It highlights how, by working together, HR and Occupational Health can better support employees’ mental health and wellbeing. The key to making a difference is a systematic approach to managing mental health and wellbeing, providing health and wellbeing support interventions that are evidence-based and meet the needs of staff.
IOMSC - Advocating for Occupational and Environmental Medicine: A toolkit for Occupational Medicine Societies
The purpose of this document is to articulate the basic elements of advocacy, that might be common to all OM societies, and to describe some basic approaches, techniques and activities that may be particularly effectives, recognizing that all advocacy efforts will need to be tailored to local circumstances. The IOMSC believes that advocacy is important, not only to achieving any particular goal or policy objective, but that over time advocacy efforts can help educate the public as to the critical role that OEM plays in improving the health and well-being of workers, ensuring the safety of work places, and in protecting the environment.
Issue Briefing - Estimating the financial return on employers’ investments in the prevention of work injuries in Ontario
In August 2018, the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) published an Issue Briefing titled “What do employers spend to protect the health and safety of workers?” The briefing described a 2017 study to estimate occupational health and safety (OHS) expenditures by employers with 20 or more employees in Ontario, Canada. This Issue Briefing shares findings from a follow-up study to estimate the financial return on those OHS expenditures.