title: Using the theory of planned behavior and a stage model of persuasion to evaluate a safety message for firefighters.
abstract: A field study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) health and safety message targeted at firefighters and to examine predictors of safety intentions among this group. This project examined: (a) the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict behavioral intentions for firefighters receiving a NIOSH occupational safety and health message; and (b) the use of a persuasion output matrix to assess message impact. A message about firefighting safety was nationally distributed to 36,000 fire chiefs, from which 781 were randomly selected to complete a survey assessing message impact and behavioral intentions. Results indicate message impact was weakest at the exposure, recall, and action stages of persuasion output. The TPB variables were found to significantly predict safety intentions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA. jlwelbou@email.uncc.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Welbourne
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Booth-Butterfield
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D032882:Comprehension; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D009314:National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.; D016272:Occupational Health; D012926:Social Control, Formal / Q000145:classification*; D014481:United States