The mediation role of safety training between risk perception and safety behaviors among non-medical hospital staff

Abstract

The relationship between risk perception and safety outcomes has been extensively studied in the past, but there is scarce research on the mediating effect of safety training on risk perception and both safety dimensions of safety behaviors in hospital settings. This study investigates the role of safety training as a mediator in the relationship between risk perception and safety behavior, as measured by compliance and participation in safety measures. The cross-sectional data from one big private hospital in Saudi Arabia was examined using the most recent iteration of Smart Partial Least Squares (PLS4). A 71% response rate was achieved on surveys that were personally handed out to 155 non-medical staff in hospitals. In this study, the significance level for Percentile Bootstrapping with a 95% confidence interval and p ≤ 0.05 was utilized to analyze mediation. Safety training served as a full mediating variable in the link between risk perception and safety compliance. Surprisingly, safety training did not act as a mediator in the relationship between risk perception and safety participation. This study fills a gap in the body of knowledge about non-medical staff's attitudes toward risk, safety training, and safety behaviors. Additionally, it helps us comprehend how safety training can help people perceive risks and behave safely. Considering that hospital management and safety officials receive high-quality training on safety concerns, more workers follow safety precautions, and the number of workplace accidents is reduced. The results of this study can be used as a foundation for future studies to enhance occupational safety practices.