The Experience of Occupational Health Care Providers in the Government-funded Subsidized Occupational Health Program for Small Scale Industries: Use of Focus Group Interview / 대한산업의학회지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE:This study was conducted to provide the fundamental information to prepare better strategies based on the experiences of occupational health care providers who are involved in the Government-funded subsidized occupational health programs for small scale industries. METHODS:The focus group methodology was used in this study.The data was collected using focus group interviews and analyzed in the framework of the Grounded theory method as mapped by Strauss and Corbin(1990). The subjects enrolled in this study included 20 occupational health care providers in the Government-funded subsidized occupational health program for the SSI;6 doctors and 14 nurses. RESULTS: We identified 69 concepts,28 sub-categories and 5 categories(Table 2).The categories were the Program's Goals, Various Services,Difficulties in Implement Services, Program Evaluation,and Suggestions for Alternative Plans. CONCLUSIONS: This program showed that autonomous health management ability has not changed although the possibility for small scale industries to start the health management arose by acknowledging the importance of the health management in the work-place. A successful program should provided a practical service that is planned by the characteristics and the requirements of the workers,a better service than the standard, more visiting times,and a trusting relationship among workers. The occupational health agency's quality and the health manager's specialty needs to be improved and the health manager's authority should be consolidated. An actively cooperative triangular relation among the Labor Department/KOSHA, service organizations, and the workplace is required.In addition,alternative plans were suggested.These included various programs for planning an autonomous service suitable for the quality of the workplaces,a model set-up suitable for the quality of the workplaces,and a role model set-up for the health manager.