Taking care of hospital physicians: Development and implementation of a job-specific workers’ health surveillance

A Workers’ Health Surveillance (WHS) can serve as an occupational health strategy to maintain or promote work-related health and work functioning of employees. The aims of this thesis were to assess the evidence-based content of a job-specific WHS for hospital physicians (medical specialists and medical residents) and to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability.
The occupational demands, work-related health effects and related work functioning problems were investigated by using an online questionnaire, performing on-site observations and obtaining international evidence through a literature review. Decision trees were developed and a-priori decision rules followed to decide on inclusion in the WHS of the occupational demands, work-related health effects and resulting work functioning effects. The resulting job-specific WHS assesses physical and psychological health requirements, e.g. sufficient vision, alertness and judging ability and recent exposure to hazardous substances. A pilot-implementation followed by a process evaluation among stakeholders of three medical specialties indicated that the job-specific WHS for hospital physicians has been executed as planned and proposed and has largely been accepted by all stakeholders involved. Using an online questionnaire to investigate the current and future care needs of future hospital physicians revealed that they, although having health complaints, hardly express worries about their current health, but have the intention of following the WHS when offered in the future.
The job-specific WHS for hospital physicians has been developed and found to be feasible and acceptable. Implementation is recommended to maintain and promote the work-related health of hospital physicians and maintain quality of care and patient safety.