Factors affecting behavior of roadside construction workers in using personal protective equipment against dust and noise

In Hong Kong, public utilities such as water mains, sewers, electricity cables, and gas pipes are mainly laid underground. During the maintenance of underground utilities, construction sites are set up at roadside and workers are working adjacent to traffic lanes. Therefore, these workers are exposed to emissions and noise generated by vehicles passing by. Meanwhile, road excavation is essential for roadside construction site operation and usually conducted by using machineries such as hydraulic breaker. Due to the silica which naturally occurs in construction materials such as concrete, workers at roadside construction sites are exposed to silica dust and high level of noise during road excavation. In combination, these workers are at risk of health hazards due to inhalation of vehicular emission and noise, as well as silicosis and occupational deafness. Therefore, suitable control measures such as the use of respirators and ear protectors should be adopted. Yet, the use of respirators and ear protectors by these workers are not commonly observed at sites. The aim of this research is to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a framework to investigate the factors affecting the behavior of roadside construction workers in using respirators and ear protectors against dust and noise. The TPB postulates that behavior is a function of salient beliefs relevant to the behavior. There are three kinds of salient beliefs: behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs and control beliefs. These salient beliefs are considered to be the prevailing determinants of a person’s intentions and actions (Ajzen, 1988, 1991, 2006). Mixed method which combined the qualitative and quantitative research was selected for use in this study. Qualitative research was employed in exploratory study for exploring the potential factors (i.e. salient beliefs) that affect workers’ use of respirators and ear protectors. Quantitative research was employed to identify the factors affecting the use of respirators and ear protectors of workers under different constructs in the TPB. Questionnaire survey with workers was performed and the findings were complemented by the use of Delphi method. A total of 710 eligible questionnaires were received from workers, and 7 expert opinions on the factors affecting the use of respirators and ear protectors were collected. For all the worker groups, the ranking results of behavioral, normative and control beliefs obtained from questionnaire survey were consistent with the result from Delphi method. Results showed that the most significant factors affecting workers’ use of respirators and ear protectors were the behavioral belief of “prevent excessive inhalation of dust and exposure to noise”, the normative belief of “family”, and the control belief of “without personal issuance of respirators and ear protectors”. Since the beliefs factors weighed differently for different worker groups. The findings from this research would be useful to relevant stakeholders such as foremen and safety officers for promoting the use of respirators and ear protectors with respect to the profile (including gender, age, education levels, etc.) of their roadside construction site workers.