Policy implications of intervention research: research on the social context for intervention

Intervention research is of significance because the failure or success of particular interventions may have influence on policy and practice. Poorly designed interventions may impede progress in health and safety. Frequently, interventions are based on scientific/ technical definitions of occupational health and safety problems but involve intrusion into complex sociotechnical work environments. Intervention research must be built on a solid foundation of social science research. An example of research useful to health and safety intervention is the Gray Institute study of management practices in the chemical industry that was commissioned by OSHA a few years ago. It focused on safety management in chemical manufacturing firms and their contractors, including a survey of managers and contractors and nine intensive case studies of particular plants. The study describes safety management practices in the best firms in the industry. Such research can provide the groundwork for effective safety interventions in the industry, including training and training requirements, experimentation with redefined managerial responsibilities, regulation of contractors, and others. It also suggests the kinds of useful data that might be collected by NIOSH in the normal course of health and safety studies. Finally, it suggests that the interdisciplinary teams currently investigating occupational health and safety should be expanded to include social scientists.