COHN key terms

A structured interview that documents a worker's past and current jobs, exposures, symptoms, and health habits so the nurse can link current complaints to workplace conditions.

A baseline assessment done before or at the start of a job that records health status and ability to perform essential functions, creating a reference point for later comparison.

An individualized clinical judgment about whether a worker can safely perform the essential functions of a specific job, with or without reasonable accommodation.

A coordinated process that uses modified or gradual duties, temporary restrictions, and provider communication to help an injured or ill employee resume productive work as soon as safely possible.

A collaborative process in which the nurse coordinates care, treatment, and workplace accommodations for an injured or ill worker to achieve timely, cost-effective recovery and return to function.

A hearing level change averaging 10 decibels or more at 2000, 3000, and 4000 hertz in either ear, used in OSHA programs to flag early noise-induced hearing loss.

A breathing test that measures how much and how fast a person can exhale, used in surveillance to detect airway obstruction or restriction caused by workplace exposures.

Testing blood, urine, or exhaled air for a chemical or its metabolite to estimate how much of a workplace substance has actually entered a worker's body.

An illness, injury, or death whose occurrence signals that prevention has failed and that prompts investigation of workplace conditions rather than blame of the individual worker.

Treatment, such as antivirals or antibiotics, given after a documented exposure to prevent an infection from taking hold in the exposed worker.

The separate, access-restricted file holding an employee's health information, kept apart from the general personnel file and shared only with those who have a legitimate need to know.

A required form on which employers record each work-related injury or illness involving medical treatment beyond first aid, restricted duty, days away from work, or loss of consciousness.

A federal law requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities unless it causes undue hardship, and limiting disability-related inquiry to job-related questions.

A federal law giving eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for their own serious health condition or to care for a covered family member.

State legislation that defines nursing titles, licensure, and the legal boundaries of what a nurse may do, including the scope of occupational health nursing practice.

The nurse's transfer of a specific task to another competent person while retaining accountability for the assessment, judgment, and outcome of the care provided.

An ongoing, data-driven cycle of planning, measuring, and revising services so that processes and health outcomes for workers steadily improve over time.

An employer-based strategy that combines early intervention, medical case management, and workplace accommodation to reduce lost workdays and prevent needless long-term disability.

A ranked list of hazard controls, from elimination and substitution through engineering and administrative measures to personal protective equipment, used to select the most effective protection first.

A step-by-step review of a task that identifies hazards at each step and assigns controls before an injury or exposure occurs.

Devices worn by a worker, such as gloves, respirators, or hearing muffs, that reduce exposure to a hazard and serve as the last line of defense after other controls.

The legally enforceable maximum airborne concentration of a substance to which a worker may be exposed over a stated time period, set by OSHA.

A recommended occupational exposure guideline published by a private scientific committee, reflecting the airborne level believed safe for most workers over a working lifetime.

A standardized document describing a hazardous chemical's hazards, safe handling, first-aid measures, and spill response, required under OSHA's hazard communication standard.

A set of required elements, including noise monitoring, audiometric testing, hearing protection, training, and recordkeeping, for workers exposed at or above the action level.

A written employer program covering medical evaluation, fit testing, training, cleaning and storage, and cartridge change schedules for workers who must wear respirators.

An OSHA rule requiring exposure control plans, universal precautions, hepatitis B vaccination, training, and post-exposure follow-up for workers at risk of contact with blood.

A state-based, no-fault insurance system that pays medical costs and partial wage replacement for work-related injury or illness while limiting the employee's right to sue.

The practice of designing work, tools, and tasks to match human physical and cognitive capacity in order to reduce strain injuries and improve performance.

A structured review of what happened, why it happened, and what must change after an injury or near miss, aimed at correcting root causes rather than assigning blame.

A questionnaire or screening tool that estimates a person's risk for disease from lifestyle, family history, and clinical measures, often paired with feedback and coaching.

A model describing readiness to change behavior through precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance, used to tailor counseling to a person's current readiness.

A collaborative, goal-directed counseling style that uses reflective listening and open questions to help a person resolve ambivalence and voice their own reasons for changing behavior.

Combining the best available research, clinical expertise, and worker preferences when making decisions about individual care, programs, or workplace policies.

A systematic method of judging a health program's design, reach, and results so that resources can be continued, modified, or withdrawn.

A person's ability to obtain, understand, and act on health information, which determines how teaching materials, instructions, and counseling sessions should be structured.

Being physically at work but functioning below normal capacity because of illness, injury, or untreated symptoms, which often costs employers more than absenteeism.

A financial measure comparing the savings or productivity gains produced by a health program with what the program costs, used to justify budgets to management.