Safety and Health at Work

Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (산업안전보건연구원)
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The Factors Affecting Unsafe Behaviors of Iranian Workers: A Qualitative Study Based on Grounded Theory

  • Malakoutikhah, Mahdi (Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences) ;
  • Jahangiri, Mehdi (Department of Occupational Health Engineering, Research Center for Health Sciences, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences) ;
  • Alimohammadlou, Moslem (Department of Management, Faculty of Economic, Management and Social Science, Shiraz University) ;
  • Faghihi, Seyed Aliakbar (School of Medicine, Clinical Education Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences) ;
  • Kamalinia, Mojtaba (Department of Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences)
  • Received : 2021.01.21
  • Accepted : 2021.04.27
  • Published : 2021.09.30
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Abstract

Background: Some researchers state that they are not yet able to provide a deep understanding of the underlying causes of unsafe behaviors (UBs). Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the attitudes and experiences of Iranian workers of UBs. Methods: This present study was conducted in 35 industries using a semistructured interview based on grounded theory. Forty participants were interviewed, including 13 industrial safety and health experts and 27 workers and supervisors. The analysis of the present study consisted of a three-step coding process including open, axial, and selective coding. Results: The results showed that the factors affecting UBs could be classified into three categories: organizational, individual, and socioeconomic factors. Organizational factors were divided into 6 parts: procedure and environmental conditions, communications, monitoring, organizational safety culture, resource allocation, and human resources. Socioeconomic factors had three subcategories: community safety culture, type of organizational ownership, and economic problems. Finally, the individual factors were classified into two categories of personality traits and individual competence. Conclusion: The results showed that organizational factors were the most categorized, and it is estimated that this factor has a more important role in the UBs. Of course, to better understand the close relationship between these factors and find the weight and importance of each factor, it needs to measure it with multicriteria decision systems.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was part of Ph.D. thesis at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, and the authors would like to thank for the financial support (Grant no. 98-01-04-20798) for this research. Also, the ethic of this study was approved by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences No. IR.SUMS.REC.1398.1367.

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