The Use of Health Management Programs for the Contractors Workforce

Abstract

This paper aims to detail key success factors in understanding the effective principles of managing the health and well-being of the contractor workforce during and post pandemics, specifically for organizations in the oil, gas and energy industry. Furthermore, it shall provide insights and guidance on how to maintain and enhance contractor workforce experience, particularly during and post the COVID-19 pandemic; detailing the benefits of having well-established health management programs designed specifically for the contractor workforce. The social determinants of health (SDH) can be defined as the social and economic conditions in which people are born, grow, live, learn, work and age. They are nonmedical factors that influence a vast range of health conditions; affecting individuals' overall quality-of-life. Economic policies, social norms and political systems are all examples of forces and factors that shape daily life conditions and affect human health (ODPHP, n.d.; WHO, n.d.a). SDH also encompasses education, employment, socioeconomic status, access to health care, social support as well as neighborhood and physical environment (Artiga and Hinton, 2018). SDH have a crucial influence on health disparities and inequities – "the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries" (CDC, 2020). A well-known key factor in the emergence and perpetuation of health disparities is housing. Several researchers from a diverse array of disciplines explored the various aspects of the association between housing, health and well-being. They endeavored to comprehensively elucidate the major pathways through which housing conditions can negatively impact health equity, with a focus on the broad spectrum of hazardous exposures, their accumulated impact and their historical production. As reported by Rolfe et al. (2020), there is compelling evidence of poor physical health consequences of toxins within homes, damp and mold, cold indoor temperatures, overcrowding, and safety factors. Beyond the aforementioned impacts of physical aspects of housing on physical health, poor housing conditions have also been linked with high risks of poor mental health and well-being (Pevalin et al., 2017).