Esta pesquisa, de enfoque qualitativo, buscou compreender o processo de trabalho dos profissionais que atuam em Vigilância em Saúde do Trabalhador (VST), lotados na Subgerência de Saúde do Trabalhador da Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde (COVISA) e nos Centros de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador (CRST) da Prefeitura Municipal de São Paulo. Procurou conhecer as estratégias, recursos e instrumentos utilizados por esses profissionais, além de identificar as ações reais e os significados atribuídos por eles a sua prática. Pretendeu, ainda, dar visibilidade a sua \"inteligência no trabalho\", acreditando que sua experiência e conhecimento podem colaborar para o aprimoramento e desenvolvimento das políticas públicas de saúde/trabalho e de suas próprias ações em (VST). Baseou-se nos referenciais teóricos da psicodinâmica do trabalho e da escola franco-belga da ergonomia. O método seguido foi o \"estudo de caso\". Foram consultados documentos governamentais, legislações e atas de conferências federais, estaduais e municipais, relativos à Saúde Pública no Sistema Único de Saúde e à área de Saúde do Trabalhador, em especial à VST. Foi feito um estudo da bibliografia pertinente à área, produzida entre 1980 e 2011. Esse material foi utilizado como fonte de dados simples e como informação para a compreensão dos referenciais teóricos, políticas e diretrizes que norteiam o trabalho dos profissionais em VST. A coleta de dados de campo partiu de um questionário, respondido pelos profissionais dos serviços em foco, a fim de caracterizar aquelas equipes multiprofissionais. Os dados permitiram fazer um diagnóstico do universo estudado e funcionaram como norteadores para a escolha, por critérios de representatividade, dos 13 profissionais que seriam convidados a participar de entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os dados das entrevistas realizadas foram tratados pelo método de \"análise de conteúdo\", com foco no processo de trabalho, na dinâmica do planejamento, desenvolvimento e avaliação das ações de VST, a partir da percepção dos profissionais que as realizam. Entre os resultados encontrados, verificamos que a VST não é um processo linear, está sujeita a tensões e conflitos de várias naturezas que deveriam ser considerados no estabelecimento dos critérios adotados para sua avaliação, na busca de avanços no alcance dessas ações. Insuficientes processos de reconhecimento e de troca de experiência e a aproximação da aposentadoria da maioria dos profissionais que atuam em VST no município evidenciam a possibilidade de que o \'saber-fazer\" construído se perca. A carência de recursos matérias, humanos e de processos de capacitação podem trazer prejuízos ao trabalho. A forma desordenada como vem sendo acolhida a demanda de acidentes de trabalho no município e o número insuficiente de autoridades sanitárias para atender à essa demanda podem estar comprometendo a qualidade e a capacidade efetiva das ações de VST. Concluímos que a ausência de clareza sobre o papel dos CRST e da área de Saúde do Trabalhador de COVISA, em tempos de Rede Nacional de Atenção Integral à Saúde do Trabalhador (RENAST), e a defasagem entre trabalho prescrito e trabalho real, podem estar dificultando a construção de programas efetivos em VST. Com a precariedade de planejamento, avaliações e sistematização, as ações de VST podem estar se distanciando de seu objetivo de prevenção e promoção da saúde. / This qualitative research is an attempt to understand working process of public healthcare providers who work in Surveillance of Workers\' Health of the Health Surveillance Coordination and of the Reference Center for Workers\' Health within the city of São Paulo. It has sought to understood the strategies, resources, and tools used by these professionals, in addition to identifying the real actions and the meanings assigned by them for their practice. It Intended to also give visibility to their \"intelligence at work\", believing that their experience and knowledge can contribute to the improvement and development of public health policies/work and their own actions in Surveillance of Workers\' Health. It was developed based on theoretical references of work psychodynamics and those of the French-Belgian school of ergonomics. The methodology used was the \"case study\". Government documents, laws and acts of federal, State and local conferences, relating to Public Health at the Brazilian Unified Healthcare System, and those in the area of Workers\' Health, in particular at the VST, were consulted. A study was made of the relevant bibliography to the area, produced between 1980 and 2011. This material was used as a simple data source, and how to information for the understanding of theoretical references, policies and guidelines that governs the work of professionals in Surveillance of Workers\' Health. The fieldwork started with a questionnaire answered by professionals of services in focus, in order to characterize those multi professional teams. The data allowed making a diagnosis of the universe studied and worked to orient to the choice, by representativeness criteria, of 13 professionals who would be invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Data from the interviews were treated by the method of \"content analysis\", with focus on work process, in dynamics of planning, development and evaluation of the actions of Surveillance of Workers\' Health, from the perception of professionals that perform. Among the results, we see that the Surveillance of Workers\' Health is not a linear process, is subject to tensions and conflicts of various natures that should be considered in the establishment of the criteria adopted for its evaluation, in the pursuit of advances in reach of these actions. Considering the insufficient recognition processes and lack of exchange of experience, and adding to that, the approaching retirement of most professionals working in Surveillance of Workers\' Health in the municipality, highlighted the possibility that the \' know-how \' built up could be lost. The lack of human and material resources and of training processes can bring harm to work. The disorderly manner as has being accepted the demand of work-related accidents in the municipality and the insufficient number of health authorities to meet this demand may be compromising the quality and the effective capacity of Surveillance of Workers\' Health. We found that the lack of clarity about the actions of workers health developing by the Reference Center for Workers\' Health and by Health Surveillance Coordination, in times of National Network of Integral Attention to the Health of the Worker, and the lag between prescribed and real work, may be making it difficult to build up effective a Surveillance of Workers\' Health. With the precariousness of planning, evaluation and systematization, the \"Surveillance of Workers\' Health\" actions may be moving away from its goal of prevention and health promotion.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that more than 2.3 million workers die yearly from work related accidents and diseases and this is probably an underestimation. Estimates indicate that occupational accidents are a serious problem in the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the nature and magnitude of health and safety challenges affecting workers in small-scale and informal woodworking enterprises and to develop guidelines for improvement. As a quantitative research, the exploratory-descriptive and contextual designs were used to conduct this research. Snowball sampling was used to collect data from all the 223 workers working in 88 small-scale and informal wood processing industries in Tiko, Mutengene, Buea, Ekona, and Muyuka areas from July 4th to 30th, 2016, using a structured interview and an inspection checklist. Data entry and cleaning was done using excel and exported to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 20.0 for analyses. The findings revealed that a majority of the woodworkers were males, young and inexperienced, mainly trained through apprenticeship and worked for long hours. There was generally lack of knowledge and poor practices of occupational health and safety among respondents. The findings also showed a very high self-reported injury rate of 86.1% among woodworkers within the past 12 months which was significantly associated (P<0.05) with woodworkers’ age and practice of OHS. Major occupational injuries reported by the respondents include cut, sprain, backache, chronic joint, fracture of the upper and lower limbs and burns. The major sources of injuries included carelessness, insufficient use of PPE and fatigue caused by overworking. Further findings showed that most study sites did not comply with the Cameroon OHS Order No. 039/MTPS/IMT of 26 August 1984 as over half of the study’s workshops had narrow walkways with obstacle and were situated in dilapidated structures. Most workers were exposed to high vibration and noise, excessive heat and cold, hazardous chemicals and ergonomic hazards. The study thus recommends that effective measures be put in place to curb work-related injury rate by enhancing health and safety promotion programmes with emphasis on pre-employment OHS training for newly recruited workers, respect the 8 hours per day allocated for work, provide workers with suitable PPE, as well as other accompanying supplies such as appropriate fire extinguishers and first aids. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

Text in English / The study, which considers that the construction industry is a high risk one due to the physical work demand and nature of the working environment, was conducted to develop practical guidelines for workers and employers that promote occupational health and safety (OHS) in the construction industry in Namibia. The study, conducted at 13 study sites in Windhoek, Namibia, used a quantitative descriptive study method to gather data regarding the OHS status of the construction industry. Data was collected from the 13 study sites using a site interviewer-led questionnaire for 549 construction workers. In addition, both a site inspection checklist and document review checklist were used to collect the data from ten construction sites. A review of documents concerning occupational accidents, diseases and injuries encountered at construction sites that were held by the Ministry of Labour, Industrial relations and Employment creation for the five-year period from April 2011 to March 2016 was carried out. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 23. The study findings show that most of the workers at the study sites were young and male, with most participants lacking awareness of OHS issues, which may hinder accidents and injuries prevention. It also emerged that occupational hazards are prevalent at the study sites and yet there were poor mechanisms for hazard prevention or mitigation measures. The study notes that there was a high rate of occupational accidents and injuries, as well as a few incidences of health hazards, as indicated by few participants, although there was no documented occupational disease. It is also noted that most study sites do not comply with OHS legislations, such as having OHS policies that indicate the employer’s commitment towards OHS, which placed workers at risk of hazard exposure, occupational accidents, injuries and diseases. Practical guidelines to promote OHS in the construction industry of Windhoek, Namibia are developed as the primary output of this project. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

Young women working in SMEs are increasingly being affected by HIV and AIDS, and SMEs are expected to respond to HIV and AIDS through workplace policies and programmes. This requires commitment from SMEs to help young women who face various gendered vulnerabilities to HIV and AIDs. The study, whose purpose was to investigate young women workers’ experiences of the HIV and AIDS response of small and medium enterprises in a semi urban area in KwaZulu-Natal, used a qualitative approach and collected data from three SMEs in Pietermaritzburg during the period of the study. Findings of the study indicate that the majority of respondents from all three SMEs agree on experiencing limited or no HIV and AIDS policies and programmes in SMEs. With reference to incomplete or limited responses, two SMEs provide financial assistance for funerals. However, some aspects such as education and awareness, monitoring, management commitment, provision of medical aid, facilitation of peer education, appointment of an HIV officer and more were not evident. Thus recommendations were made on how SMEs should respond, and future research ideas were outlined. / Health Studies / M. A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

Esta pesquisa, de enfoque qualitativo, buscou compreender o processo de trabalho dos profissionais que atuam em Vigilância em Saúde do Trabalhador (VST), lotados na Subgerência de Saúde do Trabalhador da Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde (COVISA) e nos Centros de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador (CRST) da Prefeitura Municipal de São Paulo. Procurou conhecer as estratégias, recursos e instrumentos utilizados por esses profissionais, além de identificar as ações reais e os significados atribuídos por eles a sua prática. Pretendeu, ainda, dar visibilidade a sua \"inteligência no trabalho\", acreditando que sua experiência e conhecimento podem colaborar para o aprimoramento e desenvolvimento das políticas públicas de saúde/trabalho e de suas próprias ações em (VST). Baseou-se nos referenciais teóricos da psicodinâmica do trabalho e da escola franco-belga da ergonomia. O método seguido foi o \"estudo de caso\". Foram consultados documentos governamentais, legislações e atas de conferências federais, estaduais e municipais, relativos à Saúde Pública no Sistema Único de Saúde e à área de Saúde do Trabalhador, em especial à VST. Foi feito um estudo da bibliografia pertinente à área, produzida entre 1980 e 2011. Esse material foi utilizado como fonte de dados simples e como informação para a compreensão dos referenciais teóricos, políticas e diretrizes que norteiam o trabalho dos profissionais em VST. A coleta de dados de campo partiu de um questionário, respondido pelos profissionais dos serviços em foco, a fim de caracterizar aquelas equipes multiprofissionais. Os dados permitiram fazer um diagnóstico do universo estudado e funcionaram como norteadores para a escolha, por critérios de representatividade, dos 13 profissionais que seriam convidados a participar de entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os dados das entrevistas realizadas foram tratados pelo método de \"análise de conteúdo\", com foco no processo de trabalho, na dinâmica do planejamento, desenvolvimento e avaliação das ações de VST, a partir da percepção dos profissionais que as realizam. Entre os resultados encontrados, verificamos que a VST não é um processo linear, está sujeita a tensões e conflitos de várias naturezas que deveriam ser considerados no estabelecimento dos critérios adotados para sua avaliação, na busca de avanços no alcance dessas ações. Insuficientes processos de reconhecimento e de troca de experiência e a aproximação da aposentadoria da maioria dos profissionais que atuam em VST no município evidenciam a possibilidade de que o \'saber-fazer\" construído se perca. A carência de recursos matérias, humanos e de processos de capacitação podem trazer prejuízos ao trabalho. A forma desordenada como vem sendo acolhida a demanda de acidentes de trabalho no município e o número insuficiente de autoridades sanitárias para atender à essa demanda podem estar comprometendo a qualidade e a capacidade efetiva das ações de VST. Concluímos que a ausência de clareza sobre o papel dos CRST e da área de Saúde do Trabalhador de COVISA, em tempos de Rede Nacional de Atenção Integral à Saúde do Trabalhador (RENAST), e a defasagem entre trabalho prescrito e trabalho real, podem estar dificultando a construção de programas efetivos em VST. Com a precariedade de planejamento, avaliações e sistematização, as ações de VST podem estar se distanciando de seu objetivo de prevenção e promoção da saúde. / This qualitative research is an attempt to understand working process of public healthcare providers who work in Surveillance of Workers\' Health of the Health Surveillance Coordination and of the Reference Center for Workers\' Health within the city of São Paulo. It has sought to understood the strategies, resources, and tools used by these professionals, in addition to identifying the real actions and the meanings assigned by them for their practice. It Intended to also give visibility to their \"intelligence at work\", believing that their experience and knowledge can contribute to the improvement and development of public health policies/work and their own actions in Surveillance of Workers\' Health. It was developed based on theoretical references of work psychodynamics and those of the French-Belgian school of ergonomics. The methodology used was the \"case study\". Government documents, laws and acts of federal, State and local conferences, relating to Public Health at the Brazilian Unified Healthcare System, and those in the area of Workers\' Health, in particular at the VST, were consulted. A study was made of the relevant bibliography to the area, produced between 1980 and 2011. This material was used as a simple data source, and how to information for the understanding of theoretical references, policies and guidelines that governs the work of professionals in Surveillance of Workers\' Health. The fieldwork started with a questionnaire answered by professionals of services in focus, in order to characterize those multi professional teams. The data allowed making a diagnosis of the universe studied and worked to orient to the choice, by representativeness criteria, of 13 professionals who would be invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Data from the interviews were treated by the method of \"content analysis\", with focus on work process, in dynamics of planning, development and evaluation of the actions of Surveillance of Workers\' Health, from the perception of professionals that perform. Among the results, we see that the Surveillance of Workers\' Health is not a linear process, is subject to tensions and conflicts of various natures that should be considered in the establishment of the criteria adopted for its evaluation, in the pursuit of advances in reach of these actions. Considering the insufficient recognition processes and lack of exchange of experience, and adding to that, the approaching retirement of most professionals working in Surveillance of Workers\' Health in the municipality, highlighted the possibility that the \' know-how \' built up could be lost. The lack of human and material resources and of training processes can bring harm to work. The disorderly manner as has being accepted the demand of work-related accidents in the municipality and the insufficient number of health authorities to meet this demand may be compromising the quality and the effective capacity of Surveillance of Workers\' Health. We found that the lack of clarity about the actions of workers health developing by the Reference Center for Workers\' Health and by Health Surveillance Coordination, in times of National Network of Integral Attention to the Health of the Worker, and the lag between prescribed and real work, may be making it difficult to build up effective a Surveillance of Workers\' Health. With the precariousness of planning, evaluation and systematization, the \"Surveillance of Workers\' Health\" actions may be moving away from its goal of prevention and health promotion.

This study investigated the exposure of employees in the South African Police Service (SAPS) to the HIV/AIDS workplace programme, levels of knowledge of HIV/AIDS, perceptions of stigma and discrimination and of participation by stakeholders in programme implementation. The researcher subscribes to the view that stigma and discrimination are major obstacles to the successful implementation of the HIV/AIDS workplace programme as this notion has been substantiated by numerous studies. Self-administered questionnaire was used as means of data collection. Findings suggest that the employees of SAPS based at the National Head Office have high levels of knowledge on HIV/AIDS. However, the majority of the respondents indicated that they would not feel comfortable to disclose their HIV positive status, fearing the consequences thereof. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

Text in English / This study sought to evaluate the implementation of an HIV and AIDS workplace policy at Sappi-Ngodwana mill. Employing process evaluation, and adopting a qualitative approach, the study evaluated the intervention process, the perceptions of the policy implementers, the strengths and weaknesses of the policy implementation, and suggests possible strategies for addressing the challenges. A systems approach was the theoretical point of departure and guiding framework of the research study. Research data was gathered through in-depth interviews with key informants and theory-driven and data-driven inductive reasoning was adopted in analysing the data. The general findings were that although the Sappi-Ngodwana mill implements a comprehensive HIV and AIDS programme that are in line with national and international benchmarks, there were challenges identified. Recommendations are that the company redesign the HIV and AIDS policy implementation plan with a specific focus on improving the peer educators` system. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

This study investigated the exposure of employees in the South African Police Service (SAPS) to the HIV/AIDS workplace programme, levels of knowledge of HIV/AIDS, perceptions of stigma and discrimination and of participation by stakeholders in programme implementation. The researcher subscribes to the view that stigma and discrimination are major obstacles to the successful implementation of the HIV/AIDS workplace programme as this notion has been substantiated by numerous studies. Self-administered questionnaire was used as means of data collection. Findings suggest that the employees of SAPS based at the National Head Office have high levels of knowledge on HIV/AIDS. However, the majority of the respondents indicated that they would not feel comfortable to disclose their HIV positive status, fearing the consequences thereof. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

Text in English / This study sought to evaluate the implementation of an HIV and AIDS workplace policy at Sappi-Ngodwana mill. Employing process evaluation, and adopting a qualitative approach, the study evaluated the intervention process, the perceptions of the policy implementers, the strengths and weaknesses of the policy implementation, and suggests possible strategies for addressing the challenges. A systems approach was the theoretical point of departure and guiding framework of the research study. Research data was gathered through in-depth interviews with key informants and theory-driven and data-driven inductive reasoning was adopted in analysing the data. The general findings were that although the Sappi-Ngodwana mill implements a comprehensive HIV and AIDS programme that are in line with national and international benchmarks, there were challenges identified. Recommendations are that the company redesign the HIV and AIDS policy implementation plan with a specific focus on improving the peer educators` system. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)