This study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the government-funded subsidized occupational health program for small-scale enterprises(GSOHP_SSE) by occupational health communication in workplace.

We sampled the 1,835 enterprises of study by proportional stratified random sampling among industries of supported and not supported by GSOHP_SSE in Seoul, Ansan, Daejeon, Kwangjoo and Pohang. Information on the general characteristics of enterprises and respondants and occupational health communication in the workplace was collected on self-reported questionnaires by post-survey between December 6 and 15 in 2001. We received answers from 463 enterprises and analyzed 228 enterprises through data-cleaning by logistic regression to evaluate effectiveness of GSOHP-SSE about occupational health communication in the workplace.

By multiple logistic regression analysis, GSOHP_SSE turned out not to be statistically significant factor in all dependent variables about occupational health communication in the workplace. The concern of owner(odds ratio (below OR) ; 1.63, 95% confidence interval(below 95% CI) ; 0.38-7.01), formation(OR ; 3.67, 95% CI ; 1.00-13.44) and empowerment(OR ; 1.48, 95% CI ; 0.25-8.91) of health manager, request about occupational health problem of health manager(OR ;4.48, 95% CI ; 0.97-20.57) and occupational health communication of owner (OR ; 3.07, 95% CI ; 0.81-11.71) had the trend increasing OR in the industries supported GSOHP_SSE relative to the industries not supported. But in recognition of possibility on occupational health communication of laborers, OR of GSOHP_SSE was decreased in 0.53(95% CI ; 0.11-2.44).

This study found that the GSOHP_SSE was some effective to the side of employer and health manager, but had a limitation about change of communication culture useful to the laborers. We suggested the laborer-centered health training programs or the empowerment-based health training programs for effective occupational health management in the workplace.