Are You Prepared? Defining Occupational Health Resource Needs to Prevent Infectious Disease Transmission in the Health Care Sector

Abstract

This article discusses the extent of resource allocation to Occupational Health (OH) to prevent infectious disease exposure and transmission in British Columbia (B.C.). It also characterizes the delineation of roles and responsibilities within OH services in B.C. health care settings and highlights areas where improvements to current OH programs could be made to prevent and control occupational infections. Given the breadth of OH responsibilities, resource allocation in many health care institutions for these services is inadequate and roles and responsibilities may not be clearly delineated.