TowardaStrategyforImprovingOccupationalSafetyandHealth

(OSH)MessagingtoSmallBusiness

SchulteP.A.,CunninghamT.R.,Hennigan B,GuerinR.J.

ThefindingsandconclusionsinthisreportarethoseoftheauthoranddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheNationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealth.

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NumberofPrivate-SectorU.S.Firms,Establishments,EmployeebyFirmSize2015

EstablishmentSize Firms Establishments Employees

1to4 2,923,143 3,321,099 7,128,946

5to9 1,087,990 1,432,184 9,553,986

10to 19 668,493 967,961 13,355,898

20to49 420,687 665,162 20,575,454

50to99 129,641 222,187 15,639,989

100to249 62,799 126,247 19,348,669

250to499 16,278 32,232 11,161,233

500to999 6,635 11,904 8,870,601

1000+ 4,004 7,121 16,602,675

ALL 5,319,670 6,786,097 121,637,451

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SmallBusinessEmployers

CommunicationStrategyByapublichealthorOSHagency

ComponentsofaFrameworkofissuestoconsiderindeveloping

Overview

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CriticalinOSHcommunication:

• Target:smallbusinessemployer⁻ ResponsibleforOSH⁻ Controlsresourcesforpreventionefforts

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Messaging

⁻ Contemporaryunderstanding:communicationbyelectronicmeans

⁻ Generalunderstanding:transferringinformationbyanymeans

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• Communicationoccursinanenvironmentwhererecipientisalsoinformationseeking⁻ Theymayoverlap

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ReasonswhyOSHagenciescannoteffectivelycommunicatewithsmallbusinessemployers⁻ Perennialconundrum⁻ Lackofresearch;needmore⁻ OSHnotchampionedinsmallbusinesspopulations⁻ Falsebeliefin“onesizefitsall”⁻ Smallbusinesshavedifficultyobtainingandactingonmessages

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Forcommunicationandinterventionpurposesusingtheterm“small-business”

⁻ Misleading⁻ Counterproductive⁻ Varioussizecutpoints⁻ Variouscapacitiesforpreventionaction

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Needabetterunderstandingofmeaningoftermsmallbusiness

• Businessage• Structure• Managementcentricity• Culture• Psychosocialexperience• Financialresources

(Cunninghametal2014)9

Utilizingcommunicationtheory

• Theory-baseapproacharecriticalforeffectivecommunications• CommunicationbypublicorOSHagencygenerallyhasfollowedtheShannon-WeaverModel:

Source Channel ReceiverMessage

(ShannonandWeaver,1949)

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MaybeoutmodedforOSH

Morematrixedapproach(McGuire1985)

Retention

Acceptance

Comprehension

Attention

Presentation

Action11

Elementsinastrategyforagencycommunicationtosmallbusiness⁻ Theorybased

⁻ (e.g.,utilityofTheoryofPlannedBehaviordemonstratedbyBrosseau etal2005);HealthBeliefModel:quiteuseful

⁻ TailoringandTargetingof• Message• Channel

⁻ Segmentation⁻ Notgenerallyfeasibleunlessthepopulationofsmallbusinessescanbeidentified

⁻ Includesegmentedmessages

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Segmentedmessages-”if”statements

• (e.g.,Ifyourcompanyisastart-upthismessageisforyouor

• e.g.,Ifyourcompanyhasmorethan70people,lookatthis)

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Anapproachtotest

Segmentedaudiences:use4optionsbasedonpreventionexperience

• AdaptationofcategoriesusedbyChampoux andBrun 2003⁻ DoesyourcompanyhaveanyspecificOSHactivities?⁻ DoesyourcompanyhaveaformalOSHprogram?⁻ DoesyourcompanyinvolveworkersinOSHactivities?⁻ DoesyourcompanyhaveanextensiveOSHprogram?*Makethemmutuallyexclusive

• Tailormessagesandchannelsforeachoption.

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Roleofmotivationofsmallbusinessemployers⁻ Sparseliterature⁻ Somenotableexceptions: (Kvorning etal2015,Hedlund 2010,Eakinetal1992,Hasle andLimborg 2006)

⁻ Motivationofemployers:crucialfactor⁻ Fearappealsaremosteffectiveifyouhaveefficacyguidance⁻ Importanceofmaking“businesscase”

(Brousseau andLi2005;Cagno etal2016)

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CanWeUsetheConceptofKnowledgeStickiness?⁻ Pertainstocomplexityofknowledge⁻ Coststhataccruetorecover,toengage,anduseit⁻ Knowledgeconsideredstickyifaccessibility(understandabilityandutility)islow

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Absorptivecapacity

• Uptakeofknowledgeinfluencedbyqualitiesofrecipient• Influencedbyinherentrecipientcharacteristicsandinteractions• Interactionwithcustomers,suppliers,accounts,consumers,insurers,advertisers,regulatorsandothers• Knowledgealoneisnotsufficient

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StickinessofKnowledge Interaction

Firm’sabsorptivecapacity

Indarti,2011

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Maybeintermediariesinthecommunicationprocess

(Hasle etal2011;Cunninghametal2011)

Thoseafirminteractswith

Interaction

Mayaffectknowledgestickiness Maybepartofcommunicationprocess

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Extended Model for Small Business OSH Intervention Diffusion (Sinclair, Cunningham, & Schulte, 2013)Still a transmission model but would benefit from feedback loops

SmallBusinessesEngageinWorkplacePreventionActivities

EngageSmallBusinesses

UsingSelectedStrategies

DevelopMessagesand

SelectChannelsforReachingSmallBusinesses

AnalyzeWaysthatSmallBusinessesPerceive

OccupationalHealth&Safety

AnalyzeCharacteristics

ofSmallBusinessesand

PotentialIntermediaryOrganizations

AnalyzeWaysthat

IntermediaryOrganizations

PerceiveProvisionofOSHinformationandservicestoSmall

Businesses

DevelopMessagesand

SelectChannelsforReaching

IntermediaryOrganizations

EngageIntermediaryOrganizationsUsingSelectedStrategies

InitiatorOrganizations

Step1 Step2 Step3 Step4

IntermediaryOrganizations

Step5 Step6 Step7 Step8

Monitor

Initiator– IntermediaryPhase

Intermediary– SmallBusinessPhase

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Enhanceintermediarymodels

• Conductformativeresearchwithcandidateorganizations• Engageinfluentialindividualsidentifiedinformativeresearchtobeinvolvedinthecommunication• Collaboratewithintermediariesonhowtheywillengagesmallbusiness(Bruening etal2016)

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Itmaybetimeto

• Developnationalandinternationalstrategicplansforcommunicatingwithsmallbusiness• Prioritizeresearchandmessages

Mayhaveanimpactonmorbidity,mortality,andinjury

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ThankYoupas4@cdc.gov

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