Page 159 - Petelin, Ana, ur. 2024. Zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih / Health of Working-Age and Older Adults. Zbornik povzetkov z recenzijo ▪︎ Book of Abstracts. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press

Preventive activities of nurses among the working population

Gordana Stanić, Radica Tasić
Academy of Applied Studies Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Introduction: Preventive examinations for the working population are conducted be-
fore employment, periodically as health surveillance related to the specific occupa-
tions performed by employees, and as general health check-ups for workers when or-
ganized preventive and health education activities take place. These examinations aim
to preserve and enhance workers’ health. Within primary health care, nurses provide
support to the working population, carry out all preventive health education activities,
collaborate with occupational health services, and participate in conducting preventive
screenings for early detection of occupational diseases and prevention of work-relat-
ed injuries. The research objective was to present the activities of nurses in preventive
examinations among the working population.
Methods: Our study represents an integrative review of existing research studies on
health promotion and nursing activities in preventive examinations among the work-
ing population. We conducted a systematic review of literature published in databas-
es such as Cochrane, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus from 2019 to 2024. A to-
tal of 34 out of 412 identified published studies were analyzed.
Results: We found information about the theoretical basis of health promotion prac-
tices and the implementation of functional diagnostics as nursing activities in preven-
tive examinations. The nurse is a key person who has the knowledge and skills to in-
dependently participate, as a team member or with occupational medicine specialists,
in conducting functional diagnostics. These include anthropometric measurements of
workers (measuring height and weight, determining body mass index), blood glucose
level testing, cardiovascular system functional diagnostics (pulse and blood pressure
measurement, electrocardiography), respiratory system assessments (spirometry,
skin allergy testing, education of workers with chronic obstructive pulmonary dis- uporaba ikt rešitev na področju zdravja ... | ict solutions for health ...
ease), audio-vestibular system diagnostics (audiometry), and vision assessment (visual
acuity testing, reaction speed to darkness and light). Additionally, nurses are involved
in implementing health promotion programs aimed at preserving and improving the
health of the working population, allowing them to enhance health control both in the
workplace and in their daily lives.
Discussion and conclusions: According to most research, nurses still do not have a clear-
ly defined role in health promotion for the working population. Instead, their activities
during preventive examinations are based on knowledge and providing functional di-
agnostic services to assess workers’ health. Further research is needed to determine
how to incorporate nurses’ health promotion activities into services specifically de-
signed for the working population

Keywords: nurse’s activities, preventive examinations, working population

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