Occupational disease

Occupational diseases are acute, recurring or chronic health problems caused or aggravated by work conditions or practices. Preventing or reducing work related disease is a focus of the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022.

Obtaining accurate and useful occupational disease information is challenging, costly and time consuming. Safe Work Australia is exploring a range of ways to collect data on occupational diseases and the workplace hazards that cause them.

Occupational disease reports:

Contact dermatitis

2012: Occupational Contact Dermatitis: A review of 18 years of data from an occupational dermatology clinic in Australia

2008: Collecting Surveillance Data on Risks for Occupational Contact Dermatitis

2006: Occupational Contact Dermatitis in Australia

Hearing loss

2010: Occupational Noise-induced Hearing Loss in Australia

2006: Work-related Noise Induced Hearing Loss in Australia

Cardiovascular disease

2013: A report on work related risk factors for cardiovascular disease will be released in 2012-13

2006: Work-related Cardio-vascular Disease Australia

Musculoskeletal disorders

2006: Research on the Prevention of Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Stage 1 - Literature review 2006

2006: Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Australia

Asthma

Safe Work Australia is a partner with the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research in a National Health and Medical Research Council application for funding to undertake work on exposure to asthmagens in Australian workplaces.

Other occupational disease reports:

2006: Work-related Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Australia

2006: Work-Related Mental Disorders in Australia

2006: Occupational Respiratory Diseases in Australia

2006: Occupational Cancer in Australia

1989: Diseases Acquired from Animals

Burden of long latency occupational diseases:

Safe Work Australia is examining eight occupational diseases: respiratory disease; cancer; contact dermatitis; infectious and parasitic diseases; cardiovascular diseases; musculoskeletal disorders; mental disorders; and, noise induced hearing loss. This work will help us understand the work related burden of disease and better prevent or manage occupational disease in high-risk groups.

Calculations for the burden of cardiovascular disease and hearing loss in Australia will be completed in 2012-13.

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