The development of occupational health and safety management model for the informal-sector workers using a participatory approach

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop and implement the Occupational Health and Safety Management (OHSM) Model for informal-sector workers using a participatory approach. This model consists of four processes: (1) capacity building, (2) risk analysis, (3) problem prevention and solving, and (4) monitoring and communication. This study used a Participatory Action Research (PAR)approach. The participants in the study were from eight local occupations from different regions in Thailand, including wood carving and ceramic making groups from the North, artificialflower making and plastic weaving groups from the Central region, handloom weaving and blanket making groups from the Northeast, batik making and pandanus weaving groups from the South. The research measures used in this study included job safety and risk assessments, industrial hygiene instruments, checklists, questionnaires, group discussions, community culture evaluations, and effectiveness evaluations of the OHSM Model application. Moreover, the occupational health and safety (OHS) database program was designed in order to facilitate the stakeholders’ involvement. The results showed that, after the sampled groups underwent the OHSM Model process, the post-test average scores on (1) the occupational health and safety knowledge, attitudes, and behavior measurement and (2) the work practice improvement measurement were significantly higher than the level of the pre-test average scores (p<0.05). The degree of risk after undergoing the model process was decreased. The working conditions of the informal-sector workers were improved and met required standards. The results of the community culture measurement revealed that the safety culture, values, and beliefs (the workers’confidence in their group leaders) supported the application of the OHSM Model. However,the differences in clothing style and regional locations did not affect the effectiveness of the model. The effectiveness of the model in all groups was higher than 80 percent. The results showed that the average score of attitudes towards the usability of the OHS database program was good (2.71 +-.0.29). This model encouraged the use of local networks, which led to cooperation within the working groups in order to create appropriate technologies to precisely serve the needs of each group. The results demonstrated that the OHSM Model could effectively be applied to other informal-sector workers and improve occupational health and safety on a broader scale.