Risk Perception and Coping Behavior of Construction Workers on Occupational Health Risks-A Case Study of Nanjing, China.

Hui Liu,Jingfeng Yuan,Jie Li,He Li,Peng Mao,Hongyang Li

doi:10.3390/ijerph18137040

Abstract

To reduce harm caused by occupational health risks of construction workers exposed to working environments, especially those for interior decoration, it is crucial for them to actively recognize and prevent these risks. Therefore, how to improve their occupational health risks perception and regulate their coping behaviors should be of great concern. However, most prior studies target construction worker safety, and little research focuses on risk analysis from the psychological level of workers. Hence, construction workers’ occupational health risk perception level and coping behavior level in Nanjing and the influencing factors were analyzed through statistical analysis with 341 valid questionnaires. Bootstrapping was applied to test the mediating effects of risk perception on the proposed factors and coping behaviors. This study revealed that construction workers have a high-level of occupational health risk perception, yet low-level coping behavior. Gender, age, education level, and unit qualification cause differences in individual risk perception level. Personal knowledge and group effects significantly affect the level of risk perception, which subsequently affect coping behavior. Education level, monthly income, and personal knowledge influence the coping behavior through risk perception. Recommendations were put forward for risk perception and coping behavior improvement from the perspectives of construction workers themselves, enterprises, and governments. This study sheds new light for research areas of occupational health and risk management and provides beneficial practice for improving construction workers’ responses to occupational health risks.

Highlights

It can be seen that the overall average value of risk perception of construction workers was 4.03, which was at a good level, and the standard deviation was 0.7, leading to the conclusion that the occupational health risk perception of respondents was relatively consistent
We found that there is no difference in the occupational health risk perception level of construction workers in terms of marital status
The overall risk perception of construction workers is at a good level, while their coping behaviors are generally poor

Summary

Introduction

Safety has always been a prominent problem in the construction industry and has been the concern of many scholars [1,2,3]. Despite the adoption of various methods, such as the establishment of construction site safety management systems [4,5], real-time safety monitoring [6,7], and identification of key factors affecting workers’ safety behavior [8,9], the safety situation of the construction industry has been significantly improved. Construction workers need to face safety issues, and occupational health issues [10]. Knowledge graph for identifying hazards on construction sites: Integrating computer vision with ontology. Excessive occupational heat exposure: A significant ergonomic challenge and health risk for current and future workers.

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion