Application of BOHS (Basic Occupational Health Services) principles in practice

The initiative for applying the BOHS (Basic Occupational Health Services) approach in practice is spreading in developing regions. It is useful to know the effective types of support that can facilitate the BOHS application through participatory steps for work improvement in small enterprises.    Recent experiences in combining BOHS application with the use of participatory action-oriented tools proven useful in WISE (Work Improvement in Small Enterprises) programmes are reviewed. Examples include the use of action tools and practical guides within BOHS application in China, Vietnam and some other countries in Asia and Africa. Attention is drawn to qualitative risk assessment tools and “action checklists” for immediate work improvements.     Based on the experiences in applying participatory action-oriented WISE toolkits in various industries, simple tools for assessing and reducing work-related risks in small-scale workplaces are developed and applied in BOHS activities. The combined use of a work environment survey sheet and an action checklist reflecting local good practices is found useful. This can lead to a quick qualitative asessment of significant risks through walkthrough surveys. The action checklist referring to locally feasible, low-cost improvements in multiple aspects can support immediate improvement actions. When these tools are used together through participatory steps, they have proven to facilitate the identification and application of feasible risk-reducing improvements.     The improvement tools based on WISE methods can support BOHS application as they help local people identify significant workplace risks and plan their countermeasures proven by local good practices. The knowledge of prevalent work-related health problems in the industries concerned and the practical advice about feasible actions are both essential.     The application of BOHS principles in practice can be thus facilitated by utilizing action toolkits relying on local good practices. The combined use of BOHS and WISE methods can be a useful basis for developing locally practicable toolkits.