Abstract
The study of information system in occupational and environmental health is a project under the development of information system in occupational and environmental health project. The aims of the study were to review knowledge on information system in occupational and environmental health field and study the situation of such system in the country. The steps of the study included literature review, information collection, and seminar for information and experience sharing among experts and relevant organizations
The results of the study showed that there are 2 issues concerning the study: the information system for occupational health and the other for environmental health. There are at least 2 important databases for both information systems, including environment database and health database. Environment database consists of data from measurement of hazardous levels in various setting such as working environment, or pollution level in communities. On the other hand, health database consists of exposure data in population from health screening and disease information from hospitals and other health service centers. Apart from the database, the proper information system should include data collection, data analysis and interpretation, and dissemination systems.
In this study, only occupational health information system under the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Health was selected for analysis. The study found that such information systems are mainly responsible by two agencies such as the Bureau of Health Strategy and Planning and the Bureau of Epidemiology. Both agencies have established and developed their own information system, e.g. data collection, analysis, and interpretation. They focus on not only occupational diseases but also general diseases, depending on their mandates.
Regarding health service centers, several hospitals and health centers throughout the country have provided occupational health services. The occupational health services include pro-active and passive approach (or service at health service stations). The information collected includes data from walk-through survey, environmental assessment, health screening, and disease diagnosis and treatment. Up to now, several health service centers have developed their own occupational health information system to manage information they collected.
In conclusion, the development of information system in occupational and environmental health is very important for occupational and environmental health service system. However, the system faces many obstacles and problems, such as no information available, data accuracy, data sharing among relevant organizations, and supportive system for system maintenance. Therefore, responsible agencies have to co-operate to tackle the problems and to improve the information system.
