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Designing safety interventions

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Exploring the importance of contextualisation in designing occupational safety and health (OSH) interventions.

Designing safety interventions

OSH interventions that have worked successfully in one setting won’t necessarily work in another – often due to contextual differences such as culture, processes, demographics and the criticality of OSH to the organisation’s operation. Taking specific contexts into account when designing OSH interventions is likely to lead to improved outcomes, for example, through more effective risk assessment. However,  the degree to which organisations contemplate context when designing and implementing safety interventions, and the variables that influence this thinking, has not been explored systematically. 

The Foundation has commissioned Cranfield University and Queensland University of Technology to investigate the role of context in the design and overall effectiveness of safety interventions.

Through review of the existing literature, case studies, OSH syllabuses, and interviews with key industry stakeholders, the project aims to understand whether and how organisations consider contextual factors in designing safety interventions, and to develop a framework to support the consideration of contextual factors to improve the effectiveness of safety intervention. 

Project findings will be reported towards the end of 2021. The evidence and insight generated by this study will contribute to the OSH body of knowledge as well as helping to inform safer industry working practices.

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