The Health, Safety and Health Promotion Needs of Older Workers
The IOM was funded by IOSH to carry out a systematic review of the occupational health, safety and health promotion needs of older workers. The review was developed using a systematic review methodology including the development of a search strategy, screening of papers and data extraction. A total of 180 papers were identified resulting in the inclusion of 60 papers in the review.
The research questions addressed by the review were:
- What are the health, safety and health promotion needs of older workers and does this differ from the rest of the workforce?
- How are those needs being addressed - what has been found to be effective for older workers and just as importantly what doesn’t work?
- Do any safety initiatives identified, impact on health or health promotion or vice versa within this group of workers?
The review identified that there are a number of age related physical and psychological changes with ageing. However, these changes can be moderated by increased physical activity, intellectual activity and other lifestyle factors. Sensory abilities are also subject to change but some of these can be accommodated via equipment or workplace adjustments.
In reviewing accident data, although older workers are at a reduced risk of accidents they are more at risk of fatal accidents. Ill-health data identifies that although there is an increased risk of developing disease with age, many chronic diseases can be controlled and adjustments put in place in the work environment.
A number of intervention studies were identified but few were of high quality. The research suggests that occupational health intervention can reduce the risk of early retirement from the workplace; health promotion interventions are seen as positive by older workers but it is important to ensure equal access to all workers in such promotions.
The IOM report is available from the link below:
www.iosh.co.uk/researchreports
Crawford, J.O., Graveling, R.A., Cowie, H. and Dixon, K., 2010, The health safety and health promotion needs of older workers. Occupational Medicine 60: 184-192
and
Crawford, J.O., Graveling, R.A., Cowie, H., Dixon, K. and MacCalman, L., 2010, Health, Safety and Health Promotion for Older Workers. Contemporary Ergonomics and Human Factors 2010, IEHF, Taylor and Francis London. 17-26