Summary Occupational health literacy (OHL) is a domain-specific approach that can empower people to make health-appropriate decisions in the work environment. OHL comprises the knowledge, skills and willingness of people to access and process health-related information and to apply it in work situations. The aim of this study was to evolve a conceptual model and validate a scale for OHL, that can be used in many sectors in the Western industrial countries, which does not yet exist. After piloting, item selection and alteration were carried out in a pretest with n = 163 working adults in diverse small- and medium-sized enterprises in Germany. The resulting OHL items were validated in a main survey with n = 828 participants working in small- and medium-sized enterprises and among them 47.5% people with migration background. The final 12-item questionnaire had good structural characteristics and is reliable and valid for measuring OHL. Using exploratory structural equation modeling, good fit indices (root mean square error of approximation = 0.063, comparative fit index = 0.940) confirmed a two-factor structure: (i) knowledge and skill-based processing of health information (internal consistency α = 0.88) and (ii) willingness and responsibility for occupational health (α = 0.74). The OHL scale fills the gap regarding domain-specific OHL questionnaires for working adults in diverse sectors in Western industrial countries. The Occupational Health Literacy Scale can be used to identify the needs of employees and companies and then to adapt and evaluate health promotion measures. Further research could include validation and use in other countries and large companies.

Zusammenfassung Arbeitsbezogene Gesundheitskompetenz (Occupational Health Literacy, OHL) umfasst das Wissen, die Fähigkeiten und die Bereitschaft von Menschen, Sicherheits- und Gesundheitsinformationen zu finden, zu verarbeiten und in Arbeitssituationen anzuwenden. In einem mehrstufigen Verfahren wurden ein konzeptionelles Modell sowie ein 12-Item-Fragebogen entwickelt. Die Occupational Health Literacy Scale (OHLS) weist eine gute faktorielle Struktur auf und ist für die Messung von OHL zuverlässig und valide.

IntroductionIn order to make sustainable decisions in precision prevention and health promotion, it is important to adequately assess people's demands and resources at work. To reach them in an addressee-oriented way, a segmentation of employers and employees based on occupational resources is a promising option. We identified profiles based on personal and perceived organizational resources. Furthermore, we used job demands for profile descriptions to obtain a deeper understanding of the profiles, characterizing people with similar occupational resources.MethodsPersonal occupational resources (occupational health literacy and self-efficacy) and perceived organizational resources (job decision latitude and participation in health at work) were assessed among employers and employees (n = 828) in small- and medium-sized enterprises in Germany. Job demands, socioeconomic status, and hierarchy levels in the company were used for further profile descriptions.ResultsA six-profile solution fitted best to the data based on cluster and profile analyses. One profile was characterized by above-average occupational resources, and another profile was characterized by below-average resources. The other four profiles showed that the individual and perceived organizational resources contrasted. Either organizational resources such as job decision latitude existed and personal resources were not highly developed or people had high individual motivation but few possibilities to participate in health at work. People with medium or high job demands as well as people with low socioeconomic status were most frequently in below-average resource profiles. Employers with high hierarchy levels were overrepresented in the above-average profiles with high organizational resources.DiscussionFollowing the segmentation of the addressees, organizations might be supported in identifying needs and areas for prevention and health promotion. Interventions can be optimally developed, tailored, and coordinated through a deeper understanding of job demands and resources. Especially employees with low socioeconomic status and high job demands might profit from an addressee-orientated approach based on resource profiles. For example, employees obtain an overview of their occupational resource profile to recognize the development potential for safe and healthy behavior at work. Follow-up research should be used to examine how this feedback to employers and employees is implemented and how it affects the sustainability of tailored interventions.