Realizing the potential of social work in occupational health.

Potential problems in occupational health that are suitable for social work intervention are illustrated by data obtained in a study of textile industry workers. Significant differences were observed between groups of workers (newly hired, veteran, and currently unemployed) on self-rated health, frequency of health problems that interfere in role function, smoking, and frequency of alcohol consumption. In addition, health behaviors varied by sex, age, educational achievement and ethnic origin among newly hired workers. These results indicate the need to identify target groups of workers when designing and implementing health prevention/health promotion programs. A model of social work practice in occupational health is presented based on different types of health behavior (preventive health behavior, illness behavior, sick role behavior and rehabilitation) and intervention modes in social work practice (individual treatment, group work, family therapy and policy and program planning).