Impact assessment of e-trainings in occupational safety and health: a literature review

Abstract

Background Implementing workplace preventive interventions reduces occupational accidents and injuries, as well as the negative consequences of those accidents and injuries. Online occupational safety and health training is one of the most effective preventive interventions. This study aims to present current knowledge on e-training interventions, make recommendations on the flexibility, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness of online training, and identify research gaps and obstacles. Method All studies that addressed occupational safety and health e-training interventions designed to address worker injuries, accidents, and diseases were chosen from PubMed and Scopus until 2021. Two independent reviewers conducted the screening process for titles, abstracts, and full texts, and disagreements on the inclusion or exclusion of an article were resolved by consensus and, if necessary, by a third reviewer. The included articles were analyzed and synthesized using the constant comparative analysis method. Result The search identified 7,497 articles and 7,325 unique records. Following the title, abstract, and full-text screening, 25 studies met the review criteria. Of the 25 studies, 23 were conducted in developed and two in developing countries. The interventions were carried out on either the mobile platform, the website platform, or both. The study designs and the number of outcomes of the interventions varied significantly (multi-outcomes vs. single-outcome). Obesity, hypertension, neck/shoulder pain, office ergonomics issues, sedentary behaviors, heart disease, physical inactivity, dairy farm injuries, nutrition, respiratory problems, and diabetes were all addressed in the articles. Conclusion According to the findings of this literature study, e-trainings can significantly improve occupational safety and health. E-training is adaptable, affordable, and can increase workers’ knowledge and abilities, resulting in fewer workplace injuries and accidents. Furthermore, e-training platforms can assist businesses in tracking employee development and ensuring that training needs are completed. Overall, this analysis reveals that e-training has enormous promise in the field of occupational safety and health for both businesses and employees.

Analysis of the Effectiveness of Safety Training Methods

“…Therefore, OSH training should focus on making workers aware of the need to carry out their work in such a way that their health is maintained at the highest level. This is also confirmed in the work of Barati Jozan et al [94], who show that effectively improving workers' knowledge and skills ultimately leads to fewer accidents and injuries in the workplace.…”

The effects of an educational intervention based on the protection motivation theory on the protective behaviors of emergency ward nurses against occupational hazards: a quasi-experimental study

“…Another study in India also revealed that educational workshops improved HCWs’ knowledge about occupational hazards [ 26 ]. A literature review study also highlighted the positive impacts of e-training programs on employees’ knowledge and behavior regarding occupational health and safety and reducing workplace injuries [ 27 ]. These findings are consistent with the present study regarding the impact of educational intervention on individuals’ protective behaviors against occupational hazards, also it should be denoted that some parts of the educational intervention in the present study were delivered virtually on mobile platforms.…”