Risk Perception and Occupational Health and Safety: Evaluation in National and Global Context

Year 2023, Volume: 6 Issue: 2, 11 - 23, 14.06.2024

Okan Özbakır

https://doi.org/10.57244/dfbd.1347259

Abstract

Risks can be prevalent problems both within national borders and beyond. Examples of recent global infectious diseases such as natural disasters, man-made disasters (such as exposure to radiation), Covid, H1N1, and Ebola viruses can serve as examples of this. Interpretations and subjective judgments about risk are called risk perceptions and are important determinants of health and risk-related decisions (such as policy decisions about nuclear power plants, genetically modified foods, processed meats). We conducted research on studies on perception around the world, trends and what can be studied in the future. In this study, we identified 137 relevant publications from the SCOPUS database between 1987 and 2023. All the data obtained were analyzed using the Bibliometrix computer program based on R-studio. Analyses included the analysis of co-occurrences of networks, thematic maps, and trending topics. According to the findings of the present study, all reports were published in 101 sources since 1987. These documents have an annual growth rate of 5.55, increasing significantly after 2009. The countries with the highest number of publications are Australia, followed by Canada, Italy, Portugal, and the United States. Due to the nature of the topic, the occurrence of joint publications among countries is quite low. Individuals’ awareness of occupational health and safety issues increases their awareness of workplace risks and, therefore, the likelihood of preventing workplace accidents and occupational illnesses.

Keywords

Perception, occupational health and safety, risk, hazard

Risk Perception and Occupational Health and Safety: Evaluation in National and Global Context

Abstract

Risks can be prevalent problems both within national borders and beyond. Examples of recent global infectious diseases such as natural disasters, man-made disasters (such as exposure to radiation), Covid, H1N1, and Ebola viruses can serve as examples of this. While the concept of risk denotes the probability of experiencing harm or danger, hazards define threats to people and things they value. Probability, on the other hand, is the expression of the likelihood of a harm or danger occurring, perceived with uncertainty. Uncertainty arises when a situation is uncertain, unpredictable, or probabilistic. Interpretations and subjective judgments about risks are called risk perceptions and are important determinants in health and risk-related decisions (such as policy decisions about nuclear power plants, genetically modified foods, processed meats). In this study, we identified 137 relevant publications from the SCOPUS database between 1987 and 2023. All the data obtained were analyzed using the Bibliometrix computer program based on R-studio. Analyses included the analysis of co-occurrences of networks, thematic maps, and trending topics. According to the findings of the present study, all reports were published in 101 sources since 1987. These documents have an annual growth rate of 5.55, increasing significantly after 2009. The countries with the highest number of publications are Australia, followed by Canada, Italy, Portugal, and the United States. Due to the nature of the topic, the occurrence of joint publications among countries is quite low. The perception levels of individuals in terms of occupational health and safety increase their awareness of existing risks in the workplace and, therefore, the likelihood of avoiding work accidents and occupational diseases. Especially job and periodic workplace training aim to increase employees' awareness and maintain their perception levels at a high level.

Keywords

Perception, Occupational Health and Safety, Risk, Hazard

References

• Alexopoulos, E. C., Kavadi, Z., Bakoyannis, G., & Papantonopoulos, S. (2009). Subjective risk assessment and perception in the Greek and English bakery industries. Journal of environmental and public health, 2009.
• Ar, H. (2014). İklim değişikliği risk algısının toplumsal cinsiyet eşitliği açısından incelenmesi: Ankara ili Beypazarı ilçesi araştırması (Master's thesis, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü).
• Choudhri, A. F., Siddiqui, A., Khan, N. R., & Cohen, H. L. (2015). Understanding bibliometric parameters and analysis. Radiographics, 35(3), 736-746.
• Devos, P., & Menard, J. (2019). Bibliometric analysis of research relating to hypertension reported over the period 1997–2016. Journal of hypertension, 37(11), 2116.
• Güler, S. (2014). Örgütlerde güven algılamasının örgütsel sinizm üzerine etkisi ve bir araştırma (Master's thesis).
• Karanatsiou, D., Misirlis, N., & Vlachopoulou, M. (2017). Bibliometrics and altmetrics literature review: Performance indicators and comparison analysis. Performance Measurement and Metrics, 18(1), 16-27.
• Kahneman, D., Slovic, P., & Tversky, A. (Eds.). (1982). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Cambridge university press. Kulak, M., Ozkan, A., & Bindak, R. (2019). A bibliometric analysis of the essential oil-bearing plants exposed to the water stress: How long way we have come and how much further? Scientia horticulturae, 246, 418-436.
• Kulak, M., & Kilic, N. (2020, May). A bibliometric analysis: How important is salicylic in response to the salinity from NaCl? In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts (p. 1302).
• Markscheffel, B., & Schröter, F. (2021). Comparison of two science mapping tools based on software technical evaluation and bibliometric case studies. COLLNET Journal of Scientometrics and Information Management, 15(2), 365-396.
• Malanski, P. D., Schiavi, S., & Dedieu, B. (2019). Characteristics of “work in agriculture” scientific communities. A bibliometric review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 39, 1-16.
• Paek, H. J., & Hove, T. (2017). Risk perceptions and risk characteristics. In Oxford research encyclopedia of communication.
• Rejeb, A., Abdollahi, A., Rejeb, K., & Treiblmaier, H. (2022). Drones in agriculture: A review and bibliometric analysis. Computers and electronics in agriculture, 198, 107017.
• Slovic, P. (2016). The perception of risk. Routledge. Öztürk, T. (2022). ILO Üyesi Ülkelerin İş Kazası Sonucu Oluşan Ölüm Oranı Bakımından Kümeleme Yöntemi ile Sınıflandırılması. SGD-Sosyal Güvenlik Dergisi, 12(1), 35-52.
• Zhang, Y., Yao, X., & Qin, B. (2016). A critical review of the development, current hotspots, and future directions of Lake Taihu research from the bibliometrics perspective. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23, 12811-12821.