Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114546

Raymond C. Sinclair, PhD¹, Stacy W. Smallwood, MPH¹, and Amanda M. Gust, MPH². (1) Education and Information Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226, 803-777-5505, ssmallwood1@cdc.gov, (2) Office of Compensation Analysis and Support, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226

The Health Belief Model has been used to guide education and information efforts in many public health arenas. Usually researchers and practitioners focus on targets' perceptions of a) the health or injury threat, b) the recommended prevention action, and c) her or his ability to perform the action. However, for occupational safety and health communications, the “cues to action” construct from the HBM becomes central to understanding and predicting behavior. The labor contract between an employee and employer influences workplace behavior. Employees agree to behave in certain ways (performing work) in exchange for wages. Perceptions about the employer's support for occupational safety and health have an important influence on whether or not they perform protection behaviors. Occupational safety and health problems also require the use of a two-tiered HBM – a second tier for simultaneously understanding the behavior of managers – who have their own “cues to action.” We will contrast the relative influence of the “cues to action” construct in non-occupational and occupational situations. We will use data from a study of a sharps injury prevention campaign among health care workers in Columbia, South Carolina. Recommendations for further research will be included.

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