Occupational health needs in small industry in New Zealand: preferred sources of information

An audit of occupational health needs assessment and serviceutilization was carried out in a survey of small industry. Fifteenper cent of the workforce considered that working conditionswere poor, and 8 per cent considered that their health had beenaffected by work. The proportions were highest in manual workers,rising to 31 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. Thirty-eightper cent of the workforce had needed occupational health informationor advice in the past, particularly amongst manual workers (53per cent). The ‘boss’ was the commonest source ofinformation, followed by the general practitioner. These findingshave important implications for planners of occupational healthservices who need to ensure that these two groups have accessto high quality information. Fifty-nine per cent of those whohad needed information had not actually sought and obtainedit. This suggests that information needs are not being met.Information which was received, however, generally met the requester'sneed.