Safety Science 20 ( 1995 ) 207-2 11

Professional education in occupational safety in Australia

Elfreda Marshall *, Martin Mackey

health and

Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, P.O. Box 170, Lidcombe. NSW2141. Australia

Abstract

Legislative changes, and the general drive by practitioners to acquire recognised professional qualifications, has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) courses offered by Tertiary Institutions. In 1990 Worksafe Australia, in consultation with relevant Government Authorities, and professional groups, decided to develop guidelines on the

standards required of OHS courses. A background paper on current Australian OHS courses was prepared in 1992.

Twenty six educational institutions, offering programs designed to graduate OHS personnel, were sent questionnaires. Information was sought regarding course objectives, and curriculum.

The response rate was 81% and pertained to 32 individual OHS courses (25 generalist and 7 specialist). The range of awards analysed varied from Associate Diploma to Masters level. Most courses contained a high percentage of core content (x = 96% for generalist and 79% for specialist courses). Generalist courses devoted a considerable percentage of the core curriculum to social science (x=24% for Grad Dip) and science (x=22% for Masters). Courses varied with regard to the percentage of core curricula devoted to fieldwork (x < 10% in Grad Dip and Masters). Most courses devoted time (x = 18%) to research related subjects. Although WHO and OHS professional groups have identified the need to include proactive strategies in courses, less than 10% of responding institutions identified these within subject descriptions.

Commonality in core curricula was found to exist in the OHS courses offered by the institutions surveyed. This occurred regardless of the award level or whether the courses were generalist or specialist in focus. There was however, variation between the percentage of core hours deuoted to similar subjects. Identified outcome competencies for core content areas would simplify course development and ensure the desired skills in graduates.

1. Introduction

During the last 20 years the World Health Organisation (WHO), often in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), have addressed the issue of training

* Corresponding author.

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208 E. Marshdl. M. Mackey /Safety Science 20 (1995) 207-21 I

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professionals. GuideEines for the development of OHS education in Australia were initiated in 1983 and in 1987 the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission issued the National Training and Education Policy and Strategy for Occupation Health and Safety. This stated that the principles of the National

OHS Strategy should include improvement of OHS standards through training and edu-

cation which should not only encompass all members of the work force but should target the range ofoccupations with responsibility for delivering OHS services. In 1990, Worksafe Australia, in consultation with relevant Government Authorities, and professional groups, decided to develop guidelines on the standards required of OHS courses. Legislative changes and the general drive by practitioners to acquire recognised professional qualifi- cations, has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of courses which have been offered by tertiary institutions in recent years.

The aim of this study was to consider course curricula dedicated to the training of OHS professionals throughout Australia and to identify common core subjects currently offered. The information obtained was then utilised by the Professional Education Unit of Worksafe Australia (in consultation with an appointed Steering Committee) as a first step in the production of a guidance note for the development of tertiary level courses for professional

education in OHS.

2. Material and methods

Twenty six educational institutions, apparently offering programs designed to produce graduates eligible to seek employment as OHS personnel, were sent questionnaires. The institutions selected for inclusion in the project were all those in Australia, listed by the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety and the Directory of Higher Education Courses 1991/92 as offering appropriate courses. Several of these institutions offered more than one program, some of which were designed to graduate generalists in the OHS area

and some of which produced graduates eligible for membership of specialist OHS profes- sional organisations. The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions and took approximately 20 minutes to complete. Respondents were asked to complete information with respect to each professional training course the institution offered. Questions varied between those that required a tick or a yes/no response to those that required the inclusion of numbers, inclusion of lists of subjects and hours and the listing of specific objectives.

3. Results

The response rate from educational institutions offering courses in OHS was 81%, 21 institutions responding but only 18 offering appropriate courses. Together these 18 insti- tutions offered 32 courses, 25 of which were generalist and 7 specialist in focus. Because of the lack of coursework, Masters by Research and PhD programs were not included in the analysis of these 32 courses. The range of awards analysed varied from Associate Diploma to Coursework Masters level.

E. Marshall, M. Mackey /Safety Science 20 (1995) 207-211 209

Table 1

Mean proportion of total hours per subject area in generalist courses

Award Subject areas

Law Science Sot. Sci Erg/Eng Field Wk Research Proactive Reactive

Assoc Dip 9.5 f 10 20.8 f 13 22.3 i I 10.2*6 17Sf18 9.7*6 7.5f 4 9.2f7

Bachelor 4.0 f 1 38.0 f 3 14.5 I 15 4.0* 1 18.Ort6 4.512 10.0*9 7.0f6

Grad Dip 5.7*4 24.7 f 19 24.4*16 9.8rt8 3.1 k6 18.3f 12 9.9*8 5.9*7

Masters 4.2+4 22.2 f 10 18.4+9 8.8 f 10 8.0* 12 29.2* 19 8.0*8 7.6+9

Fig. 1. Relative proportions of mean subject hours in generalist courses.

It was found that most courses used highly and relevantly trained teaching staff, primarily

from within the institution. The most common primary professional disciplines of those teaching on these courses were engineering, ergonomics, occupational hygiene, psychology,

science and toxicology. Most institutions had utilised External Advisory Committees when developing courses, however, academic and professional groups were over represented on

these committees and consumer groups such as unions, Government and employer groups were under represented. As responding institutions almost unanimously provided the oppor-

tunity for their staff to do consultancy work, many of the teaching staff may have had workplace experience. Problem solving sessions, lectures and practical sessions were the

most commonly employed teaching strategies.

Both generalist and specialist courses comprised a high percenfuge of core as opposed to elective subjects in the curriculum. In the generalist programs the average percentage of

total hours devoted to core content was 96% and in the programs designed to produce specialists the average was 79% of the total. Core subjects were categorised as law, science, social science, engineering/ergonomics, fieldwork, research, proactive and reactive strate-

gies. Included under science were the biological bases of injury and disease, hygiene and toxicology. Social science included, psychology, sociology, communication and manage- ment of organisations and information. Biostatistics, epidemiology, proposal writing and data analysis were classified as research while proactive strategies included health promotion and safety training. Reactive strategies included accident analysis, first aid and rehabilitation. Table 1 presents the mean percentage of total hours devoted to these subject areas according

to the level of the award.

210 E. Marshall, M. Ma&y /Safety Science 20 (1995) 207-21 I

As Fig. 1 illustrates, generalist courses devoted a considerable percentage of the core

curricula to social science (24% f 16 of total hours in Graduate Diplomas) and science subjects (22% f 10 of total hours in Coursework Masters). Courses varied with regard to

the percentage of core curricula devoted to fieldwork (3% f 5.7 of total hours in Graduate

Diplomas, 8% k 11.8 in Masters generalist programs and 4% k 4.9 in specialist programs).

Within the generalist Graduate Diplomacourses, an average of 6% f 4 of hours were devoted to legislation, 18% + 12 to research. The average for research increased to 29% + 19 for Masters by Coursework programs. Analysis of core subjects indicated that less than 9.5% f 8 of the content was devoted to proactive strategies, in generalist courses and the percentage was lower in specialist courses.

4. Discussion

This research demonstrated that a degree of commonality existed between tertiary edu- cation programs for OHS professionals, regardless of the level of the award offered or whether the course aimed to produce generalists or specialists. The level of competence

attained may have varied with the level of award but this could not be determined. Very little choice in subjects was offered to students undertaking these programs.

Generally the courses seemed to be addressing the desired competencies recommended by the World Health Organisation in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation in 1974,1981,1988 and 1989 (ILO/WHO, 1981,1989,1974; WHO, 1988) andconsumer groups with an interest in the OHS area (Marshall and Mackey, 1992). However, as outcome

competencies were not available in many of the course materials provided, discrepancies may have occurred between nomenclature and desired outcome. For example, most pro- grams offered communication as a subject or module. Skills in communication involve not only being able to disseminate information in verbal and written form, but to be able to translate it into workplace language which is comprehensible to the recipients. Whether

communication skills were being developed in course participants, to an appropriate level of competency and specific to the needs of industry, could not be determined from the information provided. Feedback from representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions indicated that there was considerable scope for improvement in communication skills in the OHS professionals encounted (Marshall and Mackey, 1992). A similar com-

ment may be made with regard to proactive strategies as despite the WHO recommendation of 1988 (WHO, 1988)) it was difficult to ascertain to what extent course participants were being educated to be proactive rather than reactive in an occupational environment. Thus, there may be a disparity between what is considered to be desirable in the promotion of health in an occupational setting and what is emphasised in these programs.

Courses had many subjects and some apparently similar content in common. Subjects with names such as Occupational Health Law, Communication Skills, Management, Ergon- omics, Research and Toxicology were frequently encountered. This similarity existed, regardless of the level of the award and whether the courses were described as being generalist or specialist in focus. As the standard deviations in Table 1 indicate, there was a considerable degree of variation between percentage of core hours devoted to similar subjects. In addition, a considerable percentage of subjects offered as core curricula were

E. Marshall, M. Mackey /Safety Science 20 (1995) 207-21 I 211

found to have similarity in content despite a difference in nomenclature. A few responding

institutions described the individual subjects in terms of outcome competencies which provided a useful basis for comparison. More specific guidelines regarding core content should facilitate the process of course development while ensuring desired skills in gradu- ates.

One of the greatest areas of variation within the course information submitted was in the

area of field work. The range varied from 0 to 26 percent of total hours in Coursework

Masters programs, 0 to 16 percent of total hours in the Graduate Diploma generalist courses and 0 to 11 percent of total hours in specialist courses. Field work was not always offered

in work places and often work place hours were incorporated within more than one subject such as ergonomics and occupational health practice.

5. Conclusion

For Australians wishing to undertake tertiary education in OHS, a considerable range of programs was found to be offered in 1992. Because subject content, if expressed in terms

of outcome competencies, was found to make comparison between subjects and courses more objective, it would seem to be a desirable requirement and would facilitate the process

of transfer between courses. If Government agencies are to prescribe core curricula for Occupational Health programs, then it should be done in terms of core competency stan- dards. When designing courses such as communication skills, management and general

proactive strategies, it is important to ensure that the course objectives reflect the market needs as identified by external advisory committees and consumers of OHS services.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Worksafe Australia for the sponsorship of this project and Professor Wai-On Phoon and his team from the Professional Education Unit of the

National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, for their guidance and assistance.

References

ILO/WHO, 1974. Teaching of Occupational Health and Safety, Milan 1972. ILO/WHO Joint Conference Report.

Regional Office for Europe, WHO, Copenhagen.

ILO/WHO, 198 I. Education and Training in Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics. 8th lLO/WHO Joint

Committee Report on Occupation Health. Technical Report Series 663. WHO, Geneva. ILO/WHO, 1989. Epidemiology of Work-related Diseases and Accidents. 10th ILO/WHO Joint Committee

Report on Occupational Health. Technical Report Series 777. WHO, Geneva.

Marshall, E. and Mackey, M., 1992. Background Paper for Core Curricula Guidelines for Professional Education

in Occupation Health and Safety. Report to Worksafe Australia.

WHO, 1988. Training and Education in Occupational Health. WHO Training and Education in Occupation Health

Study Group Report. Technical Report Series 762. WHO, Geneva.