Final answer:
A nurse conducts an occupational health assessment to identify risks that employees may face and to ensure employers follow OHSA mandates to provide a safe working environment, including informing workers about hazards and providing protective measures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The rationale for conducting an occupational health assessment by a nurse is to identify agent and host factors that place employees at risk in the workplace. This includes acknowledging potential hazards and implementing strategies to mitigate them. Assessments aim to promote a safe workplace by ensuring that employees are informed about hazards and that employers take appropriate action to address safety and health issues, as mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OHSA). This act requires employers to protect workers from health and safety hazards, provide safety training, keep accurate records of injuries and illnesses, provide necessary personal protective equipment at no cost, and post OSHA citations and summaries for workers to see.
In addition, OSHA requires employers to inform workers about chemical hazards and other risks through various methods of communication and training. It is the employer's responsibility to find and correct safety and health problems, primarily by altering working conditions rather than relying solely on personal protective gear. If OSHA standards are not specific to a hazard, employers must still follow the General Duty Clause, which demands that workplaces be kept free of serious recognized hazards.