Version 1
: Received: 25 August 2019 / Approved: 27 August 2019 / Online: 27 August 2019 (03:54:38 CEST)
How to cite:
Chaswa, E.N.; Kosamu, I.B.M.; Kumwenda, S.; Utembe, W. Risk Perception and Its Influencing Factors among Construction Workers in Malawi. Preprints2019, 2019080276. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201908.0276.v1
Chaswa, E.N.; Kosamu, I.B.M.; Kumwenda, S.; Utembe, W. Risk Perception and Its Influencing Factors among Construction Workers in Malawi. Preprints 2019, 2019080276. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201908.0276.v1
Chaswa, E.N.; Kosamu, I.B.M.; Kumwenda, S.; Utembe, W. Risk Perception and Its Influencing Factors among Construction Workers in Malawi. Preprints2019, 2019080276. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201908.0276.v1
APA Style
Chaswa, E.N., Kosamu, I.B.M., Kumwenda, S., & Utembe, W. (2019). Risk Perception and Its Influencing Factors among Construction Workers in Malawi. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201908.0276.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Chaswa, E.N., Save Kumwenda and Wells Utembe. 2019 "Risk Perception and Its Influencing Factors among Construction Workers in Malawi" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201908.0276.v1
Abstract
This study employed a deductive research approach and a survey strategy to assess risk perception and its influencing factors among construction workers in Malawi. Three specific construction hazards and their associated risks were selected. The hazards were ‘working at height (WAH) ‘manual handling of loads (MHL)’ and ‘heavy workload or intense pressure to be more productive (HWP)’. The study engaged multistage sampling of 376 subjects. Univariate analysis, factor analysis and multiple linear regressions were performed in order to determine the main influencing factors among the independent variables. The study established that workers were aware of risks posed by their work. They perceived the risk associated with WAH, MHL and HWP as very high (62.7%, = 8.80 ± 1.95); (48.5%, = 8.10 ± 2.38); (57.9%, = 8.49 ± 2.22) respectively. The study identified six factors as variables that showed significant effect on workers’ perception of risk (p < 0.05). These factors were “dreaded factor”, “avoidability and controllability”, “expert knowledge”, “personal knowledge”, education level and age. It is concluded that contractors in the Malawian construction industry should integrate analysis of behaviors and risk perception of the workers and other players to guide the identification of better health and safety interventions at their worksites.
Keywords
risk perception; safety; construction; workers; working at height; manual handling; workload; Malawi
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Environmental Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
