title: Occupational health management system: A study of expatriate construction professionals.
abstract: Due to its direct impact on the safety and function of organizations, occupational health has been a concern of the construction industry for many years. The inherent complexity of occupational health management presents challenges that make a systems approach essential. From a systems perspective, health is conceptualized as an emergent property of a system in which processes operating at the individual and organizational level are inextricably connected. Based on the fundamental behavior-to-performance-to-outcome (B-P-O) theory of industrial/organizational psychology, this study presents the development of an I-CB-HP-O (Input-Coping Behaviors-Health Performance-Outcomes) health management systems model spanning individual and organizational boundaries. The model is based on a survey of Hong Kong expatriate construction professionals working in Mainland China. Such professionals tend to be under considerable stress due not only to an adverse work environment with dynamic tasks, but also the need to confront the cross-cultural issues arising from expatriation. A questionnaire was designed based on 6 focus groups involving 44 participants, and followed by a pilot study. Of the 500 questionnaires distributed in the main study, 137 valid returns were received, giving a response rate of 27.4%. The data were analyzed using statistical techniques such as factor analysis, reliability testing, Pearson correlation analysis, multiple regression modeling, and structural equation modeling. Theories of coping behaviors and health performance tend to focus on the isolated causal effects of single factors and/or posits the model at single, individual level; while industrial practices on health management tend to focus on organizational policy and training. By developing the I-CB-HP-O health management system, incorporating individual, interpersonal, and organizational perspectives, this study bridges the gap between theory and practice while providing empirical support for a systems view of health management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Real Estate and Construction, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: iyschan@hku.hk.
authors.forename: I Y S
authors.initials: IYS
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Department of Real Estate and Construction, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: A M M
authors.initials: AMM
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D060389:Construction Industry / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards*; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000592:standards*; D010559:Personnel Management / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013598:Systems Theory; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration
keywords: Construction; Coping behaviors; Health performance; Systems theories; Task outcomes