Safety Culture Promotion Intervention Program (SCPIP) in an oil refinery factory: An integrated application of Geller and Health Belief Models

As the most of work-related accidents results from unsafe behaviors, there is clearly a need for research in this area. The purpose of this study was to assess safety culture among operation personnel of an Oil Refinery Company (ORC) in Tehran and design and implement a Safety Culture Promotion Intervention Program (SCPIP) based on an integration of Geller and HBM models. In this quasi-experimental study, as the first phase, 190 operational employees of an ORC were recruited. The data were analyzed and the SCPIP was designed. In the second phase, 90 employees were elected for the intervention (45 for the experimental group and 45 for the control group). The evaluation of SCPIP was conducted 2 months after intervention. The environmental factors were in a good condition. About 44% of the behavioral factors and about two thirds of the cognitive factors were rated as moderate/weak. Before intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups by the total cognitive factors and the HBM constructs. After intervention these differences were significant (p ⩽ 0.001). After implementing the intervention in the experimental group, the HBM total score was remarkably improved (Mean Difference = 11.25, t = 10.100, p = 0.001). The integrative application of the Geller and HBM Models was helpful in assessing the cognitive predictors of safety culture among the personnel of the ORC. SCPIP was useful in improving the employees' perceptions on safety culture in the occupational setting. HBM may be utilized to promote the human component of Geller model.