Social marketing to plan a fall prevention program for Latino construction workers

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Social Marketing
• Workplace Safety

Background:

• Latino construction workers face higher occupational death and injury rates.
• Increased fall-related accidents (2005-2007) prompted OSHA-funded fall prevention training.
• Program focused on improving fall protection for Latino construction workers.

Purpose of the Study:

• Assess the effectiveness of social marketing in promoting fall prevention behaviors.
• Enhance fall protection strategies for Latino construction workers.
• Evaluate a university-led training program.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a social marketing approach for program planning by a multi-disciplinary team.
• Conducted immediate post-training evaluations.
• Performed follow-up interviews eight weeks after training.

Main Results:

• Training classes met participant needs, indicated by evaluations and increased safety behaviors.
• Spanish-speaking Latino workers were underrepresented in the training compared to their population share.
• Social marketing facilitated customized training content.

Conclusions:

• Social marketing planning effectively tailored training to Latino worker needs.
• Future initiatives should focus on employer responsibility for workplace safety.
• Behavior change strategies alone are insufficient; systemic changes are needed.