The Knowledge and Approach of Occupational Physicians about Occupational Respiratory Diseases

The aim of this study was to evaluate occupational physician's approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of occupational respiratory diseases. Forty-one occupational physicians who were responsible of a total 10,023 workers were evaluated. Questionnaires were performed via interview. Thirty-one male (75%) and 10 female (% 25) physicians with a mean age +/- SD:39.19 +/- 5.18 yr were enrolled in the study. The mean employment time of the physicians at factories was +/- SD:6.3 +/- 3.4 yr. The physicians were working at textile, marble, chemistry and metal factories. For each physician, the mean number of workers that they were responsible for was +/- SD:244.5 +/- 190.9 (50-750). Of the 10,023 workers, 143 were diagnosed as having occupational lung disorders. The prevalence of occupational respiratory diseases was 1.4%. Only 29.3% of the occupational physicians had attended to an occupational diseases course during their employment. The type of the occupational respiratory diseases and the percents were:COPD (37%), Asthma (12%), Acute inhalation damage (10%), hypersensitivity pneumonitis (5%), byssinosis (% 2). Fifty-four percent of the physicians has never diagnosed an occupational disease. Only 4.9% physician had PFT equipment. Preferred treatment options for the occupational respiratory diseases were; Changing the department in the same factory (58%), quit the job (37%), and medical treatment (12%). The knowledge and the equipment of the occupational physicians about the diagnosis and treatment of occupational respiratory diseases are not sufficient. We suggest that additional occupational respiratory courses for occupational physicians may contribute to improvements in the diagnosis and control of occupational respiratory diseases.