This pilot project utilizes secondary cross-sectional data from 576 healthcare workers to explore a conceptual model for opioid misuse among workers in an industry at risk for injuries and opioid dispensing. The NIDA-funded project for which the data were originally collected estimated a conceptual model that centered around individual-level predictors for opioid misuse and intentions to initiate prescription opioid use. The primary aim of this pilot project is to examine workplace-related variables in the data as constructs in the current conceptual model to integrate TWH elements. These findings, combined with gaps identified in research via literature review, will be used to inform future intervention development.
Study Highlights
Perceptions about workplace safety are associated with intentions to misuse prescription opioids
The safer that workplaces were perceived to be, the less likely workers were to report intentions to misuse prescription opioids
when controlling for workers’ attitudes, perceived behavioral control, normative beliefs, and other perceptions about their workplace such as physical and psychological strain.
Perceptions about workplace safety moderate effects of normative beliefs about opioid use
Normative beliefs had a significant effect on intentions to
misuse prescription opioids without controlling for perceptions about
workplace safety and stress. However, there is a significant moderating
effect of workers’ perceptions of workplace safety on the relationship
between normative beliefs and intentions to misuse opioids.
