Organizational influence on working people's occupational noise protection in Hong Kong

INTRODUCTION: While there is some evidence of the influences of personal knowledge and organizational factors on workers' hearing protection, a causal model examining relationships between these variables is lacking. METHOD: To create and test such a model, this study collected data from 1,701 workers in Hong Kong through a random sample telephone survey. RESULTS: Fitting the model to the data revealed that organizational regulation of occupational noise protection was a root cause of workers' protective behavior, whereas workers knowledge about the protection exhibited only a minimal effect. CONCLUSIONS: These findings cast doubt on the significance of personal knowledge as a unique factor contributing to noise protection. The study also finds that organizational regulation was predictable by a number of organizational and industrial factors. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: To prevent occupational deafness, organizational regulation accompanied by regular inspection and a norm of noise protection is important.