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Workplace restructurings in intervention studies – a challenge for design, analysis and interpretation

BackgroundInterventions in occupational health often target worksites rather than individuals. The objective of this paper is to describe the (lack of) stability in units of analysis in occupational health and safety intervention projects directed toward worksites.MethodsA case study approach is used to describe naturally occurring organizational changes in four, large, Nordic intervention projects that ran 3–5 years, covered 3–52 worksites, cost 0.25 mill–2.2 mill €, and involved 3–7 researchers.ResultsIn all four cases, high rates of closing, merging, moving, downsizing or restructuring was observed, and in all four cases at least one company/worksite experienced two or more re-organizations during the project period. If individual worksites remained, ownership or (for publicly owned) administrative or legal base often shifted. Forthcoming closure led employees and managers to seek employment at other worksites participating in the studies. Key employees involved in the intervention process often changed.ConclusionMajor changes were the rule rather than the exception. Frequent fundamental changes at worksites need to be taken into account when planning intervention studies and raises serious questions concerning design, analyses and interpretation of results. The frequent changes may also have deleterious implications for the potential effectiveness of many real life interventions directed toward worksites. We urge researchers and editors to prioritize this subject in order to improve the quality of future intervention research and preventive action.

Making sense of fishermen’s risk perception

Abstract In this paper we reflect on the possible reasons for the acceptability of risk in sea fishing and the implications they may have for safety actions and interventions. The data presented in the paper were collected during three trips at sea on fishing vessels in connection with a study of slips, trips and falls. The fieldwork offered an in situ insight into the way fishermen perceive their work and the risks they face, as well as their views of an outsider. Through empirical examples derived from our research and other studies, we show that fishermen’s risk perception can be explained by the need to adopt coping strategies, ie compromises and resilience in an environment marked by uncertainty and unpredictability. The difference between lay and expert knowledge is particularly salient in the case of safety researchers and fishermen. In order to make sense of the fishermen’s risk perception, we examine not only their working conditions, but also the conditions of our own knowledge of risk. The most important lesson to learn from our research and similar studies is that any improvement in fishermen’s safety must be planned and implemented in partnership with them.