A Systematic Review of Social Marketing Interventions Promoting Occupational Health and Safety

Abstract

Background

Unintentional and preventable workplace injuries are a common occurrence across employment contexts. Campaign and intervention initiatives are often implemented to promote health and safety in the workplace. However, to date, scarce research has reviewed the manner in which social marketing principles have been used to inform these efforts.

Focus of Article

The current review seeks to address this gap by completing a systematic review of occupational health and safety interventions that utilize social marketing approaches.

Research Question

This review sought to identify key trends and characteristics across occupational health and safety social marketing efforts such as what topics, theories, and design characteristics are most often used to inform these initiatives. The review also sought to determine how effective social marketing tactics were in promoting behavior change.

Method

In total, 4,354 article titles and abstracts were reviewed across four databases. Ultimately, 11 articles reviewed met the set inclusion criteria, were reviewed, and subsequently analyzed.

Results

Results indicated that social marketing interventions typically addressed behaviors related to construction safety, agricultural safety, and safety within healthcare environments. While little continuity existed among information dissemination approaches specified, it was clear that many interventions used some form of traditional media (e.g., print, radio, etc.) as a mainstay of their approach. Further, most were effective in promoting behavior change.

Importance to the Social Marketing Field

While this review identified vital information relating to the development and implementation of occupational health and safety initiatives, clear gaps exist in how key campaign elements, messaging approaches, and strategies are documented in the literature.

Recommendations for Research and Practice

Practitioners can and should use information identified from this review to guide the development of social marketing interventions. Further, this work also provides important guidance on best practices for documenting features and outcomes of future social marketing efforts.