Common Health—Care Units in Industrial Parks in Taiwan

Abstract

Common Health-Care Units in Industrial Parks in Taiwan: Shih-Bin Su, et al. Graduate Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University—In Taiwan, according to the Worker'' Health Protection Regulation (the Regulation), factories with more than 300 employees in total or more than 100 employees engaged in specific hazardous tasks are required to establish on-site health-care units. In addition to general primary care, these units should serve eight specific functions, including health education and promotion, diagnosis and treatment of occupational diseases, vaccination, job placement, health examination, study of occupational health and maintenance of records of occupational diseases and injuries, prevention of occupational diseases and improvement of work environments, and family planning. Factories in the same industrial park are allowed to establish a common health-care unit instead of individual health-care units in the factories. We conducted a nationwide survey of the industrial parks and, through site visits, collected data on the pattern of organization, manpower, and services of their common health-care units with a standard questionnaire. We also evaluated their functions as set forth by the Regulation. As a result, we found only 10 of the 65 (15.4%) industrial parks had common health-care units and obtained data on 8. The variations in the pattern of organization, manpower, and services were quite large, but most of the units did not carry out all the eight essential functions. Because the establishment of a common health-care unit can save cost, it is planned by many industrial parks under construction. The results of our survey showed that these units may not function well, which calls for more thoughtful planning and proper law enforcement. (J Occup Health 2001; 43: 382-387)