Michael A. Vojtecky

Program evaluation and health and safety training

A national survey of individuals responsible for the evaluation of health and safety training in occupational settings was conducted using self-administered mailed questionnaires. This paper presents descriptive data on the evaluation information collected in formal programs of instruction and the uses to which this information is put. Results indicate that the majority of evaluations conducted by the sample cannot determine if health and safety training is effective.

Education for Job Safety and Health

The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHAct), while empha sizing the importance of engineering controls, explicitly recognizes the salience of worker behavior to the prevention of injury and illness by mandating training in job safety and health. Selected research findings from the published literature illustrate that: (1) reliable behavioral procedures that took advantage of existing engineering controls improved the health protection of workers, (2) changes in environmental con ditions were effected through changes in worker behavior, and (3) changes in the social environment favorable to the adoption of safe behavior resulted from training and motivation programs. At present individuals who are responsible for workplace health education rarely have appropriate training in this area. Until individuals with special training in health education enter this field it is unlikely that education will achieve its potential as a method for combatting occupational illness and injury.

Occupational back pain of nurses: special problems and prevention

An observational study was performed to asses the nature and relative frequency of special circumstances of nursing which might contribute to occupational back pain and of preventive methods unique to nursing practice. The activities of 63 nurses were observed and coded in a behavioral scoring system. The group included registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, aides and orderlies, and they worked in several different nursing units including intensive care units, medical/surgical units, post-anesthesia room and delivery room. Physical obstruction to easy contact with patients and fragile, extended attachments to patients were the most frequently observed problems. Mechanical assist devices, although available, were rarely employed. Assistance by a second staff member was the most commonly used preventive method. Such information is valuable for worker training programme design, job design and guiding priorities for future research.

The use of assistance while lifting

Using assistance during lifting is a desirable behavior. Assistance can eliminate or reduce the amount of biomechanical stress associated with a lift, significantly reducing the risk of low back injury. This paper describes lifting activities engaged in by nursing care workers. Only 15% of all lifts performed by the hospital nursing personnel in this study were assisted lifts. The analysis suggests that the use of assistance can be associated with specific factors such as type of object lifted, work stress associated with the lift, number of preparations that must be made before the lift can be attempted, years of experience of the lifter, and the idiosyncratic behavior patterns of lifters with respect to using assistance. It is recommended that attention be given to psychological and social, as well as biomechanical, factors in the control of low back injury.

The evaluation of health and safety training.

A national survey of individuals responsible for health and safety training at the workplace was conducted by self-administered mailed questionnaires in 1982–83. This analysis examines the responses to the questions on evaluation. Descriptive data on the extent to which health and safety training programs are being evaluated, the types of evaluation that are done, and the technical approaches used are presented. Results suggest that the majority of current training programs are being evaluated in some way, but also that a substantial portion of these evaluations are not rigorous and do not validly assess the extent to which training is effective.

Workplace Health Education: Results from a National Survey

A national survey of individuals responsible for workplace health education was conducted by self-administered mailed questionnaire. The present analysis examines the responses to the questions on the types of health education activities undertaken and the prior training in health education of those responsible for this work. Results suggest that interest and activity in workplace health education is increasing but that there is a serious lack of training in health education on the parts of those responsible for this work.

An Adaptation of Bigge's Classification of Learning Theories to Health Education and an Analysis of Theory Underlying Recent Health Education Programs

This paper attempts to examine the practice of health education from the perspective of learning theory. Examples of recent health education programs are discussed in this context. It is suggested that, in general, health education and program rationales are firmly rooted in learning theory, but that goals, educational interventions, and evaluation methods are not always consistent with the learning theory apparently underlyng the program. Furthermore, it is suggested that such inconsistencies are relevant to many controversial issues in health education and may have considerable impact on policy devel opment.

The “Heartscore” Program: A Case Study in Limited Evaluation

In greater Youngstown, Ohio coronary heart disease (CHD) is the number one cause of death and disability. Moreover, mortality rates from CHD are higher in this region than in any other part of Ohio. In response to the obvious need for risk reduction programs in this area the “Heartscore” program was created. Heartscore is a hospital-based community health promotion effort designed to help decrease the incidence of death and disability resulting from CHD by increasing the publics awareness of risk factors and the ways that they can be controlled. A total of 2,135 people took part in Heartscore. Resources for a comprehensive evaluation of the Heartscore program were scarce, therefore only a limited evaluation of the screening programs was conducted. Even a limited evaluation, however, can produce useful results. This article describes Heartscore giving particular attention to how information gathered during the evaluation of the screenings is being used to fine-tune Heartscore and to plan more specific interventions.

Worker Training in Job Safety and Health: How Do We Know it Works?

Two methods of occupational disease and injury prevention specifically required by Federal law are education and training of workers in job safety and health. Basic assumptions underlying these strategies are that they will increase safe behavior thereby reducing health risk. However, questions continue to arise regarding the effect of ongoing training as a preventive measure and, therefore, about the practical usefulness of these assumptions. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which evaluations of ongoing training programs can provide information to test the basic assumptions. A self-administered mail survey concerning the evaluation practices of occupational health professionals responsible for the evaluation of health and safety training programs was conducted. Results suggest that for many evaluations the information collected is inappropriate for the uses to which it is put. Furthermore, the results also suggest that measurement validity is a problem. Thus, in effect, we have no way of knowing whether or not the majority of training programs are effective.