The Role of Supervisory Support on Workers' Health and Safety Performance.

Leadership is a critical component to an organization's embedded safety culture and influences the ways that health and safety is enacted on site. Empirical research has demonstrated that by improving leadership, safety outcomes are likely to improve as well. Worker perceptions are shaped through leader-employee interactions over time. However, few details are known about social support dimensions (i.e., emotional, informational, and tangible support) offered by supervisors and what kind of impact this communication has on miners' safety culture perceptions and performance. In order to study leadership communication in a high-risk environment, this study utilized pre- and post-interview data collected with 20 managers and 48 workers to identify positive and negative instances of social support and its implications on worker performance. Findings show that emotional support, although helpful in motivating miner compliance and proactivity, was harder to tailor and to be received as intended. Informational support not only had the largest impact on miners' behaviors but was also carried out by miners through support to their coworkers. Finally, tangible support in the form of supervisor assistance had a larger impact on worker behavior than offering incentives or other tangible rewards. By demonstrating the communication offered and desired within these three support dimensions - informational, emotional, and tangible - practitioners can see what is lacking in their organization and whether a shift is needed to balance supportive communication.

A Qualitative Comparison of Susceptibility and Behavior in Recreational and Occupational Risk Environments: Implications for Promoting Health and Safety.

Although internal factors that influence risk are frequently studied to understand human behavior, external factors, including social, cultural, and institutional factors, should be better utilized to inform ways to efficiently target, tailor, and promote safety messaging to at-risk populations. Semi-structured interviews obtained data from 37 motorcyclists and 18 mineworkers about their risk perceptions and behaviors within their respective dynamic environments. A comparative thematic analysis revealed information about external factors that influence risk perceptions and behaviors. Results support the importance of qualitative approaches for assessing and targeting individuals' risk perceptions and behaviors. In addition, segmenting at-risk subgroups within target populations and tailoring messages for these at-risk groups is critical for safety behavior modification. Practitioners should utilize strategic, culture-centric risk communication that takes into account external factors when determining when, who, and what to communicate via health promotion activities to more accurately disseminate valid, empathetic, and engaging communication with a higher level of fidelity.

Formative research to reduce mine worker respirable silica dust exposure: a feasibility study to integrate technology into behavioral interventions.

BACKGROUND: The use of formative research as a critical component of intervention planning is highly supported in the literature. However, studies that report such processes in practice are minimal. This paper reports on the formative data collection and analysis that informed the development of a multilevel intervention that utilizes mine assessment technology to bridge health communication between workers and management to reduce mine worker overexposure to respirable silica dust. METHODS: Formative research to assess the feasibility and utility of this intervention design included stakeholder meetings and feedback, mine visits and observations, interviews with mine workers, and a focus group with mine management. Data collection took place at several US industrial mineral mine sites and a southeastern regional safety meeting. Interviews inquired about workers' perceived susceptibility and severity to respirable silica exposure, barriers to preventing overexposure, behaviors that reduce exposure, and perceptions about respirable dust-monitoring technology. A focus group discussed mine stakeholders' uses of various dust assessment technology. RESULTS: The data was qualitatively analyzed and coded using a thematic and theoretical analysis. Researchers found recurring themes for both target audiences that informed the need and subsequent development of a mixed-method multilevel intervention to improve communication quantity and quality around dust-control practices. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that formative research is critical to: identify and develop an intervention that meets target audience needs; accurately represent the health problem; and develop positive relationships with research partners and stakeholders.

Exploring the state of health and safety management system performance measurement in mining organizations.

Complex arguments continue to be articulated regarding the theoretical foundation of health and safety management system (HSMS) performance measurement. The culmination of these efforts has begun to enhance a collective understanding. Despite this enhanced theoretical understanding, however, there are still continuing debates and little consensus. The goal of the current research effort was to empirically explore common methods to HSMS performance measurement in mining organizations. The purpose was to determine if value and insight could be added into the ongoing approaches of the best ways to engage in health and safety performance measurement. Nine site-level health and safety management professionals were provided with 133 practices corresponding to 20 HSMS elements, each fitting into the plan, do, check, act phases common to most HSMS. Participants were asked to supply detailed information as to how they (1) assess the performance of each practice in their organization, or (2) would assess each practice if it were an identified strategic imperative. Qualitative content analysis indicated that the approximately 1200 responses provided could be described and categorized into interventions, organizational performance, and worker performance. A discussion of how these categories relate to existing indicator frameworks is provided. The analysis also revealed divergence in two important measurement issues; (1) quantitative vs qualitative measurement and reporting; and (2) the primary use of objective or subjective metrics. In lieu of these findings we ultimately recommend a balanced measurement and reporting approach within the three metric categories and conclude with suggestions for future research.