BIOMETRIC SCREENINGS: THE ROUTE TO OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND 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, wellnessprograms 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 healthFor 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.

Keywords

• Biometric Screenings
• Occupational
• Safety
• Health

References

1. 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
2. ALLI, B. O. (2008). Fundamental principles of occupational health and safety. In Vasa. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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.
6. 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
7. 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
8. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION. (2018). Workplace Health Glossary. Workplace Health Promotion. https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/glossary/glossary.html

9. 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
10. 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
11. 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.
12. 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
13. DIABETES UK. (2019). Complications of diabetes | Guide to diabetes |. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/complications
14. 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/
15. 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
16. 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
17. GOETSCH, D. L. (2011). Occupational Safety and Health for Technologist, Engineers, and Managers (Pearson (ed.); Seventh).
18. 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
19. 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
20. 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
21. 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
22. 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
23. HEATHFIELD, S. M. (2019). What Do Employee Incentives Consist of at Work? https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-are-incentives-at-work-1917994
24. 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/
25. 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
26. 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
27. 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
28. MUSICK, T. (2016). Stress and worker safety. Safety + Health. https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/14300-stress-and-worker-safety
29. NIOSH. (2018). Total Worker Health. THe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/twh/letsgetstarted.html
30. 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
31. 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
32. 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
33. PDHI. (2018). What is a Biometric Screening? Platform for Wellness Programs. https://www.pdhi.com/wellness-portal/what-is-a-biometric-screening/
34. 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
35. 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/
36. 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
37. 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
38. 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
39. 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
40. 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
41. 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).
42. 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
43. 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
44. SMITH, L. E. (2017). Participation in Worksite Health Screening Activities , Health Behaviors and Readiness to Change. Minnesota State University Mankato.
45. 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
46. 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
47. 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
48. TROTTO, S. (2015). Diabetes and worker safety. Safety + Health. https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/12811-diabetes-and-worker-safety
49. 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
50. 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
51. 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
52. 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
53. 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
54. YEUNG, O., & JOHNSTON, K. (2016). The future of wellness at work. In Global Wellness Institute. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004