Measuring determinants of occupational health related behavior in Flemish farmers: an application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

PROBLEM: Preventive interventions to reduce occupational injuries and health problems in farmers require the identification of factors that contribute to unsafe and health damaging behavior. This paper describes the development and validation of a self-report questionnaire, which measures the determinants of occupational health-related behaviors in farmers. METHOD: A representative sample of 283 Flemish farmers completed a provisional 135 item questionnaire based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, measuring four behaviors related to occupational health (machinery use, animal handling, preventing falls, and pesticide use), as well as the intentions, attitudes, perceived social norms, and self-efficacy for each of these behaviors. RESULTS: The fit indices of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis turned out not to be sufficient to reproduce the dimensions of the TPB. Therefore exploratory factor analysis was use to determine the underlying dimensions. Principal Component Analyses (PCA) on the behavioral items yielded single component solutions explaining a considerable proportion of the variance for each behavior and for behavioral intentions. Principal component analyses toward an a priori three-component structure reflecting the TPB dimensions did not produce sufficient congruence for the determinants of the four behaviors. Subsequent Varimax rotations and discarding of redundant items resulted in three component solutions explaining 50% to 69% of the variance in the determinants of each behavior, corresponding with the dimensions of the TPB. Internal consistencies ranged from .25 to .89. Scale scores accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in intention and self-reported behavior. IMPACT: The study demonstrates the validity of the TPB in predicting behavior related to occupational safety and health in farmers, and provides a valid and reliable questionnaire to measure the cognitive concepts featured in this model. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Both authors share the same view on this study's impact on industry. In recent years, efforts have been made to create awareness among farmers about occupational hazards, and to encourage farmers to perform safer and healthier behavior. However, only a limited number of these interventions have proven to be successful. A possible reason for this relative lack of success is that interventions typically focus on risk analysis and raising awareness, whereas the literature on preventive health behavior change indicates that knowledge and awareness with regard to possible health risks are neither necessary nor sufficient to change behavior. To raise the effectiveness of prevention programs, other relevant determinants of behavior need to be addressed as well, such as: attitudes, perceived social norms, self efficacy, and elements of the physical environment that elicit or reinforce behavior. These determinants play a key role in psychological models of health related behavior, such as the Theory of Planned Behavior. Thus far, the use of these models within agricultural settings is fairly limited. This study demonstrates the validity of the Theory of Planned Behavior in predicting behavior related to occupational safety and health in farmers, and provides a valid and reliable questionnaire to measure the cognitive concepts featured in this model.     

Work environment risk factors for injuries in wood processing

Problem

The reported injury rate for wood product manufacturing in Maine, 1987-2004, was almost twice the state-wide average for all jobs. Method: A case-control study was conducted in wood processing plants to determine preventable risk factors for injury. A total of 157 cases with injuries reported to workers' compensation and 251 controls were interviewed. Results: In multivariable analyses, variables associated with injury risk were high physical workload, machine-paced work or inability to take a break, lack of training, absence of a lockout/tagout program, low seniority, and male gender. Different subsets of these variables were significant when acute incidents and overexertions were analyzed separately and when all injuries were stratified by industry sub-sector. Impact on industry: Generalizability may be limited somewhat by non-representative participation of workplaces and individuals. Nevertheless, these findings provide evidence that many workplace injuries occurring in wood processing could be prevented by application of ergonomics principles and improved work organization.     

Influence of alkalinity, hardness and dissolved solids on drinking water taste: A case study of consumer satisfaction

Two surveys of consumer satisfaction with drinking water conducted by Taiwan Water Supply Corp. are presented in this study. The study results show that although a lot of money was invested to modify traditional treatment processes, over 60% of local residents still avoided drinking tap water. Over half of the respondents felt that sample TT (from the traditional treatment process) was not a good drinking water, whether in the first or second survey, whereas almost 60% of respondents felt that samples PA, PB, CCL and CT (from advanced treatment processes) were good to drink. For all drinking water samples, respondent satisfaction with a sample primarily depended on it having no unpleasant flavors. Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration plans to revise the drinking water quality standards for TH and TDS in the near future. The new standards require a lower TH concentration (from currently 400mg/L (as CaCO(3)) to 150mg/L (as CaCO(3))), and a lower TDS maximum admissible concentration from the current guideline of 600 to 250mg/L. Therefore, this study also evaluated the impacts on drinking water tastes caused by variations in TH and TDS concentrations, and assessed the need to issue more strict drinking water quality standards for TH and TDS. The research results showed that most respondents could not tell the difference in water taste among water samples with different TDS, TH and alkalinity. Furthermore, hardness was found to be inversely associated with cardiovascular diseases and cancers, and complying with more strict standards would lead most water facilities to invest billions of dollars to upgrade their treatment processes. Consequently, in terms of drinking water tastes alone, this study suggested that Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration should conduct more thorough reviews of the scientific literature that provides the rationale for setting standards and reconsider if it is necessary to revise drinking water quality standards for TH and TDS.     

意愿调查价值评估法的问卷设计技术

意愿调查价值评估法是目前西方广泛采用的一种环境物品经济价值的评估方法。它的优越性在于适用范围广 ,能够完整地评价环境物品的价值。但是由于偏差的存在 ,这一方法需要深入研究 ,精心设计 ,其中调查问卷的设计尤为重要。本文系统地分析了意愿调查价值评估法的问卷设计技术 ,包括环境物品、支付工具、评价背景和问卷的预先检查。采用适当的问卷设计技术的最终目的是减小偏差 ,提高调查结果的准确性     

The nature of safety culture: a review of theory and research

This paper reviews the literature on safety culture and safety climate. The main emphasis is on applied research customary in the social psychological or organisational psychological traditions. Although safety culture and climate are generally acknowledged to be important concepts, not much consensus has been reached on the cause, the content and the consequences of safety culture and climate in the past 20 years. Moreover, there is an overall lack of models specifying either the relationship of both concepts with safety and risk management or with safety performance. In this paper, safety culture and climate will be differentiated according to a general framework based on work by Schein (1992 Schein) on organisational culture. This framework distinguishes three levels at which organisational culture can be studied — basis assumptions, espoused values and artefacts. At the level of espoused values we find attitudes, which are equated with safety climate. The basic assumptions, however, form the core of the culture. It is argued that these basic assumptions do not have to be specifically about safety, although it is considered a good sign if they are. It is concluded that safety climate might be considered an alternative safety performance indicator and that research should focus on its scientific validity. More important, however, is the assessment of an organisation's basic assumptions, since these are assumed to be explanatory to its attitudes.     

高层建筑人员竖向疏散途径选择特性调查研究

高层建筑人员竖向疏散途径选择与人的生理特征、文化背景、行为习惯等人员特征密切相关,因此开展针对我国高层建筑人员疏散途径选择特征的数据采集和分析工作十分重要。设计并开展了高层建筑竖向疏散途径选择的问卷调查。对人员在日常和紧急条件下高层建筑竖向疏散途径的选择进行了统计分析,分别针对距离因素、排队因素、群体因素影响的不同条件下人员选择电梯进行上下楼层的期望值进行了对比分析。利用Pearson相关性检验和多重对应分析方法,保障电梯疏散可行前提下,研究了人员性别、年龄、文化程度、职业、身型特征、生理和心理状态、日常行为习惯等人员特征因素和竖向疏散途径选择之间的相关关系。     

Identifying an appropriate driving behaviour scale for the occupational driving context: The DBQ vs. the ODBQ

Self reported driving behaviour in the occupational driving context has typically been measured through scales adapted from the general driving population (i.e., the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, (DBQ), Reason et al., 1990). However, research suggests that occupational driving is influenced by unique factors operating within the workplace environment, and thus, a behavioural scale should reflect those behaviours prevalent and unique within the driving context. To overcome this limitation, Newnam et al. (2011) developed the Occupational Driver Behaviour Questionnaire ((ODBQ), Newnam et al., 2011) which utilises a relevant theoretical model to assess the impact of the broader workplace context on driving behaviour. Although the theoretical argument has been established, research is yet to examine whether the ODBQ or the DBQ is a more sensitive measure of the workplace context. As such, this paper identifies selected organisational factors (i.e., safety climate and role overload) as predictors of the DBQ and the ODBQ and compares the relative predictive value in both models. In undertaking this task, 248 occupational drivers were recruited from a community-oriented nursing population. As predicted, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the organisational factors accounted for a significantly greater proportion of variance in the ODBQ than the DBQ. These findings offer a number of practical and theoretical applications for occupational driving practice and future research.     

Perceived safety climate, job demands, and coworker support among union and nonunion injured construction workers

PROBLEM: This study evaluated injured construction workers' perceptions of workplace safety climate, psychological job demands, decision latitude, and coworker support, and the relationship of these variables to the injury severity sustained by the workers. METHODS: Injury severity was assessed using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), which evaluates functional limitations. Worker perceptions of workplace variables were determined by two instruments: (a) the Safety Climate Measure for Construction Sites and (b) the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). RESULTS: The overall model explained 23% of the variance in injury severity, with unique contributions provided by union status, the Safety Climate Score, and Psychological Job Demands. A positive significant correlation was found between injury severity and the Safety Climate Scores (r = .183, P = .003), and between the Safety Climate Scores and union status (r = .225, P < .001). DISCUSSION: There were statistically significant differences between union and nonunion workers' responses regarding perceived safety climate on 5 of the 10 safety climate items. Union workers were more likely than nonunion workers to: (a) perceive their supervisors as caring about their safety; (b) be made aware of dangerous work practices; (c) have received safety instructions when hired; (d) have regular job safety meetings; and (e) perceive that taking risks was not a part of their job. However, with regard to the 49-item JCQ, which includes Coworker Support, the responses between union and nonunion workers were very similar, indicating an overall high degree of job satisfaction. However, workers who experienced their workplace as more safe also perceived the level of management (r = -.55, P < .001) and coworker (r = -.31, P < .001) support as being higher. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The findings of this study underscore the critical need for construction managers to alert workers to dangerous work practices and conditions more frequently, and express concern and praise workers for safe work in a manner that is culturally acceptable in this industry. Workplace interventions that decrease the incidence and severity of injuries, but that are flexible enough to meet a variety of potentially competing imperatives, such as production deadlines and client demands, need to be identified.     

中美两国汽车驾驶安全影响因素研究

影响汽车驾驶安全的各国道路交通系统以及驾驶员的驾驶行为等存在着差异性 ,许多差异可以通过统计数据的分析 ,或者其他定量研究方法获取 ,但仍然有许多影响驾驶安全的因素难以发现。笔者通过焦点团体座谈会的方法 ,从驾驶者的角度 ,搜集并分析了中美两国驾驶安全的主要影响因素 ,以及具有美国驾驶经历会对我国驾驶员有何影响。通过中美两国定性数据的对比分析 ,得出了主要影响因素 ,与此同时 ,通过问卷调查定量地分析了这些因素的严重程度。     

成都市生活垃圾分类支付意愿及影响因素的问卷调查分析

为了为成都市垃圾分类政策制定提供科学依据,文章基于问卷调研,运用条件价值评估法结合二元Logistic回归模型、多元线性回归模型,分析了成都市居民对城市生活垃圾分类的支付意愿(WTP)及其影响因素。调研发现:问卷填报者中95.3%的人支持强制垃圾分类,但仅21.0%人深入掌握垃圾分类知识;造成成都市垃圾分类失效的原因,73.8%的人认为政策不到位,需要采取强制监管措施,67.6%的人认为垃圾分类桶等基础硬件设施建设不到位,69.2%的人认为居民自身环保意识差,需要加强环保宣传教育。成都市居民生活垃圾治理的WTP金额为12.65元/月/户。年龄、有无住房、户口类型和月收入4个因素对支付额度有显著影响。