OBJECTIVETo investigate the eligibility and main problems for occupational health inspection agencies in China, and to provide technical references for improvement of occupational health inspection.

METHODSA survey was performed in occupational health inspection agencies that obtained eligibility before June 2011 in eight provinces: Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hubei, Guangxi, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Shenzhen. The survey used the General Information Questionnaire for Occupational Health Inspection Agency made by the project of Occupational Health Surveillance and Diagnosis and Identification of Occupational Diseases in China and Australia.

RESULTSA total of 650 agencies obtained eligibility for occupational health inspection in the eight provinces. These agencies contained 343 centers of disease control and prevention (CDC) or health and epidemic prevention stations (52.8%), 219 hospitals (33.7%), 25 institutes or centers for occupational disease prevention and control (3.8%), 29 community health service centers (4.5%), and 34 other agencies (5.2%) including departments of preventive and health care and preventive medicine outpatient departments. Four hundred and fifty-three agencies completed the questionnaire survey with a response rate of 69.7%. The main types of eligible agencies were different among various regions. A majority of occupational health inspection agencies were hospitals in Shanghai and Zhejiang (67.1%, 62.3%), departments of preventive and health care in Shenzhen (70.0%), and CDCs in Chongqing, Jiangsu, Hubei, and Guangxi. Each agency obtained 3.5 occupational health inspection eligibilities on average. Most of agencies could perform eligible health inspection for dust, harmful physical factors, or harmful chemical factors (84.8%, 87.9%, 87.2%). Moreover, 72.8% of agencies were eligible for all the three types of inspections. A few agencies were able to perform eligible health inspection for harmful biological factors or radiation work (22.5%, 23.0%).

CONCLUSIONAn occupational health inspection network has been established in these surveyed regions. CDCs, institutes for occupational disease prevention and control, and hospitals are the main agencies for occupational health inspection. In order to build up a network of occupational disease prevention and control, various agencies should make full use of their own advantages and enhance abilities and technical cooperation.