Perceived barriers to hearing protection use by employees in amplified music venues,a focus group study

Abstract

Objective:

It is a legal requirement for employees in noisy workplaces such as nightclubs to be provided with suitable information regarding their noise exposure risks, used a focus group approach to examine employees’ attitudes to workplace noise and to hearing protection use. The subsequent analysis was based on an adapted Health Belief Model.

Design/Setting:

A total of five focus group interviews were conducted in three nightclubs between July and October 2011. The 32 participants were employees in nightclubs that were shown to have daily noise exposures in excess of 80 dBA.

Method:

A tailor-made noise-training programme was designed using the combined Health Belief Model and Health Promotion Model as a framework.

Results:

The focus groups provided a deeper level of understanding of the barriers faced by the employees to hearing protection use and issues with management engagement. Participants were fatalistic, and although they acknowledged that exposure to noise in nightclubs could lead to hearing loss in the distant future, they felt there was very little that they could do to prevent it from happening.

Conclusion:

The focus groups offered insight into the barriers faced by the employees, especially relating to hearing protection use and management engagement. Findings from this study may be used to design sector-specific noise awareness training content designed to address the adapted Health Belief Model constructs identified here.