Strasser, Patricia B.

The study findings provide clear rationale for employing occupational health nurses as specialists in understanding occupational health, particularly in the areas of information seeking (e.g., identifying health resources and best practices) and illness or disability management (e.g., managing complex cases and addressing psycho-social factors). Occupational health nurses can assist human resources professionals to direct their energies to administrative and cultural features within their organizations that impact the health of employees and that clearly fall within their realm of expertise (e.g., working to create a workplace climate of genuine concern for employees). Occupational health nurses can provide aggregate information on the health of the work force to strategically encourage, direct, and harness employer investments in workplace health. Finding ways to translate and communicate workplace health information so it is accessible and usable by employers to direct decision making is a key role for occupational health nurses.