Barriers and Facilitators of Implementing Workplace Interventions Supporting Young Workers’ Safety, Work Environment and Health: A Scoping Review of Qualitative and Mixed-Method Studies
Child And Adolescent Mental Health
Barriers and Facilitators of Implementing Workplace Interventions Supporting Young Workers’ Safety, Work Environment and Health: A Scoping Review of Qualitative and Mixed-Method Studies
Child And Adolescent Mental Health

Barriers and Facilitators of Implementing Workplace Interventions Supporting Young Workers’ Safety, Work Environment and Health: A Scoping Review of Qualitative and Mixed-Method Studies

J Occup Rehabil. 2025 Aug 23. doi: 10.1007/s10926-025-10313-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Young workers face higher risks of workplace accidents, mental health issues, and physical strain. This scoping review aims to identify and summarize available research literature on barriers and facilitators to implementing workplace interventions to support young workers’ safety, work environment and health.

METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search in bibliographic databases including PubMed, Web of Science and PsycInfo for articles published from 2007-2022. The PICO strategy guided the assessment of relevant studies and the bibliographical search for qualitative and mixed-method studies on interventions where (1) participants were young workers (mean age 15-29 years), (2) interventions were initiated and/or carried out at the workplace, and (3) barriers or facilitators to the implementation of interventions to support young workers’ safety, work environment and health were described. We employed an iterative process to identify general thematic categories in the data.

RESULTS: In total, 11 relevant studies were identified. Seven primary themes related to facilitators and barriers emerged from our analysis. Facilitators: fit the organizational context, organizational support, balance between efforts and gains, employee motivation, and employee involvement; Barriers: high workload and time pressure, shift work and irregular working hours.

CONCLUSION: There is a lack of intervention studies on young workers focusing on factors for implementation. The studies we find, reveal several factors to be aware of when designing and implementing interventions to support young workers’ safety, work environment and health. The results emphasize a need for studies evaluating factors of importance for the successful implementation of workplace-based interventions among young workers.

REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42022324299 ( https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022324299 ).

PMID:40848230 | DOI:10.1007/s10926-025-10313-3