Browsing by Subject "Workplace safety"

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    Highway to the danger zone! controlled and automatic pathways to unsafe behaviors in response to time pressure.
    (2012-06) Beck, James W.
    The current research sought to make three primary contributions to the workplace safety literature. First, the research examining motivational influences on workplace safety has taken a largely static approach. In the current research a within-person approach was taken, drawing on self-regulatory theories of multiple-goal pursuit to make predictions about how individuals make trade-offs between safety and productivity while in the process of performing a task. Taking a within-person approach is critical, as accidents and injuries may be most likely to occur when resources like time are in short supply. The workplace safety literature has also largely limited its focus to controlled psychological processes. However, many motivational and decision-making processes occur automatically, below conscious awareness. A second contribution of the current research was the identification of both controlled (i.e., conscious) and automatic (i.e., non-conscious) pathways to task- and safety-performance. A third intended contribution of the proposed research was to demonstrate how two easily implemented safety interventions--regulatory focus framing and safety cues--would influence the multiple pathways to safety and productivity. Participants (N = 88) in this study performed an air traffic control simulation task. As predicted, individuals behaved more unsafely when under high time pressure, as unsafe "corner cutting" was an effective way to meet efficiency goals. Also, conscious perceptions of expectancy mediated the relationship between time pressure and unsafe behavior. However, no support was found for the mediating effects of non-conscious goal processes. The presence of safety cues did reduce unsafe behaviors, but only when efficiency goals were framed as opportunities rather than obligations, and only early in the experiment. I conclude by considering the theoretical and practical implications of the current research. Specifically, the current study demonstrated the importance of considering when unsafe behaviors are most likely to emerge and how managers and organizations can mitigate risks of accidents and injuries during high time pressure performance episodes.
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    Necessary Drugs, Unnecessary Consequences: An Intervention to Protect Healthcare Workers from Exposure to Chemotherapy
    (2016-06) Graeve, Catherine
    According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 1 in 2 people in the United States will develop cancer in their lifetime. Chemotherapy, prepared by pharmacists and given by nurses, is often part of their treatment. While necessary for patients with cancer, chemotherapy poses an unnecessary risk of serious, negative health effects to workers. Eight million health care workers per year are potentially exposed to chemotherapy, putting them at risk of exposure to agents that are known to be reproductive toxicants and probable carcinogens. Safety precautions that could reduce their exposure are neither required nor universal and barriers to their use have been identified. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a worksite intervention to protect healthcare workers who handle chemotherapy from work-related exposures to them. All nurses and pharmacy staff from a university hospital and outpatient clinic (N=163) were invited to participate. A self-report survey measured workplace and individual factors, such as perceived risk and workplace safety climate. The associations between these factors and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use were measured. Wipe samples tested for surface contamination with chemotherapy. An intervention was developed with worker input. PPE use was lower than recommended and improved slightly post-intervention. Self-efficacy and perceived risk increased on the posttest. Chemotherapeutic residue was found in several areas, including places in which PPE was not required. Awareness of safe handling precautions improved post intervention. The unit worked was an important predictor of safety climate and PPE use on the pretest but less so following the intervention. Involving staff in developing an intervention for safety ensures that changes made will be efficient. Units that implemented workflow changes had decreased contamination. Work-site analysis is important to identify specific, tailored interventions that will improve chemotherapy safety.