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- Strategies for an OSH Intervention in SMEs: An exploratory study focused on the role of employerPublication . Costa, Rita A.; Lopes, André M.; Dores, Artemisa Rocha; Rodrigues, MatildeSmall and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are known to face several difficulties in what regards to Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) management. In these enterprises, the employer plays an important role, being the responsible for decision making in this area. OSH interventions that target employers are of particular interest; however, there is a knowledge gap about how to design such interventions. The present study aims to identify the key points to considerer in the design of an OSH intervention for SMEs employers. Issues related to what employers want in an intervention, key difficulties that they face in what regards to OSH management, and strategies to improve it were identified through an exploratory approach. A focus group with six OSH practitioners, with experience in risk management and with knowledge about the waste management sector was carried out. For the dynamization of the session, open-ended questions were developed to stimulate the discussion among the participants. The focus group was designed to identify the key topics to consider in a training program, including: knowledge limitations in the field of OSH; main risk factors of the sector; difficulties experienced by the employers in the field and what employers want or give more importance in a training program. Results denoted that employers of smaller waste management enterprises have a lot of peculiarities about a training session, specifically, duration, the method in which the information is presented, being in group with other employers or not, and the topics to discuss. It was highlighted the need to address issues related to legislation, the support from external service enterprises and the main risks of the sector.
- Intervention in OSH for SMEs Employers: Influence in Knowledge and Prevention ActivitiesPublication . Lopes, André M.; Costa, Rita A.; Dores, Artemisa Rocha; Rodrigues, MatildeSmall and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face several difficulties compared to large enterprises, such as the lack of human, economic and technological resources. This could lead to difficulties in identifying, assessing and controlling occupational risks and, as a consequence, in having a good Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) performance. Employers of SMEs are responsible for the most part of decision making, namely in OSH. OSH interventions are important to change the behaviors and attitudes to the target group and may encourage both employers and employees to be more active and conscious about OSH in their enterprises. This study aims to design and implement a training session that target employers of micro and small-sized enterprises and analyze its effect on employers’ OSH knowledge and on the preventions activities carried out. The training session was divided in two parts, the first was more theorical and the second more practical. A questionnaire was developed and applied to assess the intervention effect. One month after the intervention, most of participants increased their participation in OSH activities, but were reluctant to invest financial resources to implement measures that promote OSH. The effect of the intervention in employers’ knowledge was limited. This study contribute to the design future OSH interventions in SMEs, suggesting important topics to address and provide information about how to assess its effectiveness.