SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Health 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
72983  Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Health 
ORIGINATOR
University of KwaZulu-Natal 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Postgraduate Diploma  Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services  Curative Health 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  128  Level 7  NQF Level 08  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered-data under construction  EXCO 0324/24  2024-07-01  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

Registered-data under construction

The qualification content is currently being updated for the qualifications with the status “Registered-data under construction” or showing “DETAILS UNDER CONSTRUCTION” to ensure compliance with SAQA’S Policy and Criteria for the registration of qualifications and part-qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (As amended, 2022). These qualifications are re-registered until 30 June 2027 and can legitimately be offered by the institutions to which they are registered.

 

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
This qualification aims to provide graduates with the knowledge, skills and competence in the field of occupational health as a clinical and public health discipline, including the relevant legislation, occupational medicine, occupational hygiene toxicology and epidemiology. It is intended to ensure that practitioners in the discipline provide the highest standards of service delivery to workers in protecting their health, and to management in ensuring that their obligations are met. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
Candidates for the Diploma in Occupational Health shall have a four year degree from a recognised University in health sciences or a relevant field, and be practicing / have practiced occupational health at a services, research or academic level for at least one year. 

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
N 

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
  • Have a detailed knowledge of the legislative framework governing occupational health and safety in SA;
  • Be able to measure and assess outcome data from secondary sources such as public health statistics or directly from measurement of subjective and objective individual responses to exposures;
  • Be able to conduct qualitative or semi-qualitative assessments of potentially hazardous situations which may lead to detailed epidemiologic investigations assessing exposure-response relationships;
  • Understand the concept of work-relatedness of disease an know the principal adverse health outcomes associated with the occupational exposures and how to diagnose and measure them in individuals and groups, using the concepts of environmental exposure, biological monitoring and biological effect monitoring as measures from exposure to disease;
  • Design, implement and evaluate medical surveillance programmes in the workplace;
  • Understand the needs of the different role-players and stakeholders in occupational health, their interactive dynamics and the professional ethics required in the practice of the discipline;
  • Know the effects of the workplace on special groups of workers, such as women, health care workers, youth and those with medical ailments;
  • Understand the basic principles of the organisation of occupational heath services, the different levels of prevention and cure provided, and how to evaluate these services for efficacy, cost efficiency, effectiveness and utilisation. 
    		•

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
  • Apply legislation in practical clinical or factory setting;
  • Evaluate and analyse data form a variety of sources, and generate a set of practical recommendations based on these findings;
  • Ability to conduct a risk assessment or rapid appraisal and to develop and implement research protocols, with clearly defined aims, objectives and appropriate methodology;
  • Clinically assess individuals presenting to a professional practice, determine form the available evidence on the working environment and from clinical testing, the occupational nature of the presenting illness;
  • Ability to develop written proposals on programmes, with plans on implementation and evaluation;
  • Participate in activities which involve all stakeholders in an ethical and professional manner;
  • Clinically evaluate individuals from special groups and be able to implement health programmes for such groups;
  • Differentiate between the different service types and levels of care for appropriate referrals and can conduct an assessment of services when necessary or develop proposals for specific service delivery.

    Integrated assessment appropriately incorporated to ensure that the purpose of the qualification is achieved:

    The University of Natal is currently reforming its assessment strategies to include the assessment of applied competence for each qualification. In the meantime, a combination of continuous assessment and traditional written examinations serve to assess the integration of all/most of the learning outcomes for each module in a qualification. Additionally, all students will be expected to complete a major research (epidemiological) project of a major clinical case study. These projects will be formally assessed and graded. 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
  • There are no specific vertical articulation from below, except those degrees mentioned as pre-requisites for entry into the programme
  • This qualification is intended to vertically articulate with the Masters in Public Health qualification
  • There are no specific horizontal articulation programmes 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    The ETQA system for HE is not yet fully developed. Until such time as it is, procedures described under Assessors Criteria suffice. 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    Until the HEQC establishes a registration system for assessors in the HET Band, the University of Natal assumes that on the basis of its rigorous selection criteria for the appointment of academic staff (who also have opportunities for staff development in assessment), staffs are competent to assess students on the modules they teach. This assessment is quality assured via a university system of internal moderation and external examination. External examiners are appointed for their teaching and disciplinary expertise and subject to the approval of Faculty Boards. The University of Natal ruling is that 66 % of all assessments at exit level, i.e. leading to qualifications are externally examined. 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2006; 2009; 2012; 2015. 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    When qualifications are replaced, some (but not all) of their learning programmes are moved to the replacement qualifications. If a learning programme appears to be missing from here, please check the replaced qualification.
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. University of KwaZulu-Natal 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.