Notification of occupational diseases by general practitioners in the Western Cape

Background. Notification of occupational diseases to the Department:of Labo ur (and in limited situations to other agencies) is an important aspect of surveillance and planning for interventions as well as compensation. A surv ey of general practitioners (GPs) was conducted to assess their knowledge a nd practice with regard to reporting of occupational diseases. Design. Descriptive telephonic survey. Setting. Independent general practices in the Western Cape. Participants. One hundred and forty GPs were randomly selected from a provi ncial sampling frame of 1000 GPs. Main outcome measures. Knowledge of notification procedures for occupationa l diseases, and problems encountered with the reporting system. Results: Of a total of 109 GPs interviewed, 75% had diagnosed more than one case of occupational disease in the last 6 months. Twenty-four per cent of the total (95% confidence interval (CI) 16 - 32%) indicated that they were aware of the notification requirements, and 5% (95% CI 0.8 - 9%) knew the appropriate legislation. Only one GP notified the appropriate authority onc e the diagnosis was made. Factors influencing their reporting practice incl uded lack of guidelines for diagnosis of common work-related conditions, la ck of information regarding referral channels, problems with communicating with the patient and employer, and poor knowledge of the reporting process itself. Lack of motivation as a result of poor feedback on cases reported a nd the labour-intensive administration required, were also cited as factors . Conclusion; Although the majority of GPs diagnose occupational diseases, kn owledge and practice regarding notification are poor. Recommendations to ov ercome obstacles to notification include a simplified, uniform notification system, adequate training and support of GPs, and timeous feedback to GPs.