BIOMETRIC SCREENINGS: THE ROUTE TO OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH


Abstract views: 163 / PDF downloads: 211

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26900/jsp.5.1.03

Keywords:

Biometric screenings, Occupational, Safety, Health

Abstract

Biometric characteristics such as fingerprints, palmprints, iris, or face recognition have been used at organizations to identify an individual, grant access to physical or digital facilities, and to control employees' time and attendance. Nowadays, employers recognize the importance of workers' health. For this reason, wellness programs are gaining popularity among enterprises. As part of these programs, other biometric traits such as height, weight, blood samples are acquired at biometric screening events. Their main objective is to promote healthy habits within the workforce via early prevention and timely interventions of diseases. The present work goes beyond the biometric screenings' health benefits that are broadly reported and analyzes the implication of the screenings over occupational safety and health

For this purpose, a literature review was carried out. Literature research and analysis conveyed relevant information regarding the application of biometrics in the workplace via biometric screenings. The revision of pertinent scientific documents showed that biometric characteristics acquired in a biometric screening event and the subsequent results’ analysis can aid in the identification of unconventional hazards that can affect occupational safety and health. Furthermore, the present study describes different examples on how a biometric screening results can be associated with occupational hazards and consequently affect occupational safety and health.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

ADAMS, S. R., WILEY, D. M., FARGEIX, A., GEORGE, V., NEUGEBAUER, R. S., & SCHMITTDIEL, J. A. (2015). Employer-Based Screening for Diabetes and Prediabetes in an Integrated Health Care Delivery System: A Natural Experiment for Translation in Diabetes (NEXT-D) Study. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 57(11), 1147–1153. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000548

ALLI, B. O. (2008). Fundamental principles of occupational health and safety. In Vasa. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004

BAKER, C. L., FLORES, N. M., ZOU, K. H., BRUNO, M., & HARRISON, V. J. (2017). Benefits of quitting smoking on work productivity and activity impairment in the United States, the European Union and China. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 71(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcp.12900

BERMAN, M., CRANE, R., SEIBER, E., & MUNUR, M. (2014). Estimating the cost of a smoking employee. Tobacco Control, 23(5), 428–433. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050888

BREAUX-SHROPSHIRE, T. L., WHITT, L., GRIFFIN, R. L., SHROPSHIRE, A. T., & CALHOUN, D. A. (2012). Characterizing Workers Participating in a Worksite Wellness Health Screening Program Using Blood Pressure Control, Self-Monitoring, Medication Adherence, Depression, and Exercise. American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, 292–300.

CARR, L. J., LEONHARD, C., TUCKER, S., FETHKE, N., BENZO, R., & GERR, F. (2016). Total Worker Health Intervention Increases Activity of Sedentary Workers. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.06.022

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION. (2014). CDC - Calculating BMI using the metric system - BMI for Age Training Course - DNPAO. https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/growthcharts/training/bmiage/page5_1.html

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION. (2018). Workplace Health Glossary. Workplace Health Promotion. https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/glossary/glossary.html

CHAU, N., BHATTACHERJEE, A., & KUNAR, B. M. (2009). Relationship between job, lifestyle, age and occupational injuries. Occupational Medicine, 59(2), 114–119. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqp002

COENEN, P., GILSON, N., HEALY, G. N., DUNSTAN, D. W., & STRAKER, L. M. (2017). A qualitative review of existing national and international occupational safety and health policies relating to occupational sedentary behaviour. Applied Ergonomics, 60, 320–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APERGO.2016.12.010

CUELLAR, A., HAVILAND, A. M., RICHARDS-SHUBIK, S., LOSASSO, A. T., ATWOOD, A., WOLFENDALE, H., SHAH, M., & VOLPP, K. G. (2017). Boosting Workplace Wellness Programs With Financial Incentives. The American Journal of Managed Care, 23(October), 604–610.

DANIELLOU, F., SIMARD, M., & BOISSIÈRES, I. (2012). Human and organizational factors of safety: state of the art. FonCSI. https://doi.org/10.3406/mcm.1987.945

DIABETES UK. (2019). Complications of diabetes | Guide to diabetes |. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/complications

FIT FOR WORK. (2017). Diabetes and how it can affect a person at work | Fit for Work. https://fitforwork.org/blog/diabetes-and-how-it-can-affect-a-person-at-work/

FRONSTIN, P., & ROEBUCK, M. C. (2015). Financial Incentives, Workplace Wellness Program Participation, and Utilization of Health Care Services and Spending. EBRI Issue Brief, 417, 1–23. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26477217

GIESE, K. K. (2018). Recognizing Presymptomatic Type 1 Diabetes in the Workplace. Workplace Health and Safety, XX(X), 2–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165079917750169

GOETSCH, D. L. (2011). Occupational Safety and Health for Technologist, Engineers, and Managers (Pearson (ed.); Seventh).

GOETZEL, R. Z., & OZMINKOWSKI, R. J. (2008). The Health and Cost Benefits of Work Site Health-Promotion Programs. Annual Review of Public Health, 29(1), 303–323. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090930

GOETZEL, R. Z., SHECHTER, D., OZMINKOWSKI, R. J., MARMET, P. F., TABRIZI, M. J., & ROEMER, E. C. (2007). Promising practices in employer health and productivity management efforts: Findings from a benchmarking study. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 49(2), 111–130. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e31802ec6a3

GONZÁLEZ, K., FUENTES, J., & MÁRQUEZ, J. L. (2017). Physical Inactivity, Sedentary Behavior and Chronic Diseases. Korean Journal of Family Medicine, 38(3), 111–115. https://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.2017.38.3.111

GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO, MINISTRY OF LABOUR, O. H. AND S. B. (2016). Workplace Hazards: FAQs | Ministry of Labour. Government of Ontario, Ministry of Labour,. https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/faqs/hazards.php

HALPERN, M. T., SHIKIAR, R., RENTZ, A. M., & KHAN, Z. M. (2001). Impact of smoking status on workplace absenteeism and productivity. Tobacco Control, 10, 233–238. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.10.3.233

HEATHFIELD, S. M. (2019). What Do Employee Incentives Consist of at Work? https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-are-incentives-at-work-1917994

INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE (US) COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND, & BEHAVIOR: RESEARCH, PRACTICE, AND P. (2001). Biobehavioral Factors in Health and Disease. In Health and Behavior. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK43737/

MAENG, D. D., GENG, Z., MARSHALL, W. M., HESS, A. L., & TOMCAVAGE, J. F. (2017). An Analysis of a Biometric Screening and Premium Incentive-Based Employee Wellness Program: Enrollment Patterns, Cost, and Outcome. Population Health Management, 21(4), 303–308. https://doi.org/10.1089/pop.2017.0110

MCLELLAN, R. K., MACKENZIE, T. A., TILTON, P. A., DIETRICH, A. J., COMI, R. J., & FENG, Y. Y. (2009). Impact of workplace sociocultural attributes on participation in health assessments. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 51(7), 797–803. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e3181a4b9e8

MIDDELBEEK, L., & BREDA, J. (2013). Obesity and Sedentarism: Reviewing the Current Situation Within the WHO European Region. Current Obesity Reports, 2(1), 42–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-013-0054-y

MUSICK, T. (2016). Stress and worker safety. Safety + Health. https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/14300-stress-and-worker-safety

NIOSH. (2018). Total Worker Health. THe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/twh/letsgetstarted.html

OWEN, N., SPARLING, P. B., HEALY, G. N., DUNSTAN, D. W., & MATTHEWS, C. E. (2010). Sedentary behavior: emerging evidence for a new health risk. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 85(12), 1138–1141. https://doi.org/10.4065/mcp.2010.0444

PANAHI, S., & TREMBLAY, A. (2018). Sedentariness and Health: Is Sedentary Behavior More Than Just Physical Inactivity? Frontiers in Public Health, 6, 258. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00258

PARRY, S., & STRAKER, L. (2013). The contribution of office work to sedentary behaviour associated risk. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-296

PDHI. (2018). What is a Biometric Screening? Platform for Wellness Programs. https://www.pdhi.com/wellness-portal/what-is-a-biometric-screening/

POSTON, W. S. C., JITNARIN, N., HADDOCK, C. K., JAHNKE, S. A., & TULEY, B. C. (2011). Obesity and injury-related absenteeism in a population-based firefighter cohort. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 19(10), 2076–2081. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2011.147

QUEST DIAGNOSTICS. (2019). Encouraging tobacco-cessation using outcomes-based cotinine testing. Blueprint for Wellness. http://www.questforhealth.com/blog/insights/encouraging-tobacco-cessation-using-outcomes-based-cotinine-testing/

RAMESWARAPU, R., VALSANGKAR, S., RIZVI, A., & KAMINENI, U. (2014). Trends shaping corporate health in the workplace. Apollo Medicine, 11(3), 217–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apme.2014.07.010

RODBARD, H. W., FOX, K. M., & GRANDY, S. (2009). Impact of Obesity on Work Productivity and Role Disability in Individuals With and at Risk for Diabetes Mellitus. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.4278/ajhp.081010-QUAN-243

ROSEN, H. (2014). Is Obesity A Disease or A Behavior Abnormality? Did the AMA Get It Right? Missouri Medicine. 111(2), 104–108. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30323513

Ruiz Salvador, L. C., & Thinh, D. Van. (2016). Occupational Safety and Health: An overview. 2016 IEEE 11th International Symposium on Applied Computational Intelligence and Informatics (SACI), 355–360. https://doi.org/10.1109/SACI.2016.7507401

RYAN, N., PRINGLE, R., & DEHMER, S. (2014). Health and wellness: A path to fitness for duty. Society of Petroleum Engineers - SPE International Conference on Health, Safety and Environment 2014: The Journey Continues, 3, 1389–1402. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84905860532&partnerID=40&md5=8bf8e420fbbce84d86a47631b12df2a4

SAUTER, S., MURPHY, L., COLLIGAN, M., SWANSON, N., HURRELL, J., SCHARF, F., SINCLAIR, R., GRUBB, P., GOLDENHAR, L., ALTERMAN, T., JOHNSTON, J., HAMILTORN, A., & TISDALE, J. (2009). Stress At Work (NIOSH).

SCHULTE, P. A., WAGNER, G. R., OSTRY, A., BLANCIFORTI, L. A., CUTLIP, R. G., KRAJNAK, K. M., LUSTER, M., MUNSON, A. E., O’CALLAGHAN, J. P., PARKS, C. G., SIMEONOVA, P. P., & MILLER, D. B. (2007). Work, obesity, and occupational safety and health. American Journal of Public Health, 97(3), 428–436. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2006.086900

SHERMAN, B. W., & ADDY, C. (2018). Association of Wage With Employee Participation in Health Assessments and Biometric Screening. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(2), 440–445. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117117708607

SMITH, L. E. (2017). Participation in Worksite Health Screening Activities , Health Behaviors and Readiness to Change. Minnesota State University Mankato.

SOEREN, MATTKE, HANGSHENG, LIU, JOHN P.CALOYERAS, CHRISTINA Y.HUANG, KRISTIN R. VAN BUSUM, DMITRY, KHODYAKOG, VICTORIA, S. (2013). Workplace Wellness Programs Study. In RAND Corporation. https://doi.org/10.1016/0020-7683(92)90079-9

STEENBERGEN, L., & COLZATO, L. S. (2017). Overweight and Cognitive Performance: High Body Mass Index Is Associated with Impairment in Reactive Control during Task Switching. Frontiers in Nutrition, 4, 51. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2017.00051

STRAKEER, L., COENEN, P., DUNSTAN, D., & GILSON, N. (2016). Sedentary Work: Evidence on an Emergent Work Health and Safety Issue. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/system/files/documents/1702/literature-review-of-the-hazards-of-sedentary-work.pdf

TROTTO, S. (2015). Diabetes and worker safety. Safety + Health. https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/12811-diabetes-and-worker-safety

TUCKER, L. A., & FRIEDMAN, G. M. (1998). Obesity and Absenteeism: An Epidemiologic Study of 10,825 Employed Adults. American Journal of Health Promotion, 12(3), 202–207. https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-12.3.202

TUNCELI, K., BRADLEY, C. J., NERENZ, D., WILLIAMS, L. K., PLADEVALL, M., & ELSTON LAFATA, J. (2005). The impact of diabetes on employment and work productivity. Diabetes Care, 28(11), 2662–2667. https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.28.11.2662

VANICHKACHORN, G., MARCHESE, M., ROY, B., & OPEL, G. (2017). Biometric Screening and Future Employer Medical Costs: Is It Worth It to Know? Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 59(12), 1202–1210. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001188

VARGAS CRUZ, R. S., RUIZ SALVADOR, L. C., & NAVAS LEMA, M. C. (2018). Merging Manual and Automated Egg Candling: A Safety and Social Solution. Enfoque UTE, 9(2), 70–76. https://doi.org/10.29019/enfoqueute.v9n2.292

WHITE, J. C., HARTLEY, S., & OZMINKOWSKI, R. J. (2015). Association between corporate wellness program participation and changes in health risks. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 57(10), 1119–1126. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000531

YEUNG, O., & JOHNSTON, K. (2016). The future of wellness at work. In Global Wellness Institute. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004

Downloads

Published

2021-02-15

How to Cite

RUIZ, L. C., & KOVACS, T. . (2021). BIOMETRIC SCREENINGS: THE ROUTE TO OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH. HEALTH SCIENCES QUARTERLY, 5(1), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.26900/jsp.5.1.03

Issue

Section

Letter to the Editor

Most read articles by the same author(s)