Facilitators and barriers to implementing occupational safety interventions in the fishing industry: A scoping review

Background: High fatality rates among fishermen have characterized the fishing industry for decades. Several safety interventions have been implemented, with considerable decline in fatalities in some countries. However, statistics suggest that global rates are still high. In addition, little is known regarding factors that support or hinder the implementation of these interventions. Objective: To explore, synthesize and analyze factors influencing the implementation of safety interventions in the fishing industry. Methods: In accordance with the scoping review methodology, an extensive search of articles reporting on factors influencing implementation of safety interventions was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus and grey literature. The Social Ecological Model was used as a guiding framework for mapping and analysis of results. Results: The search identified 618 articles with 12 meeting the inclusion criteria. The key facilitators included knowledge, management commitment, collaborative practices, supportive policies and enforcement of regulation. The key barriers included low risk perception, lack of time, inadequate skills, cultural and social norms, lack of support, high compliance cost, lack of harmonization of regulations, inadequate enforcement guidelines, lack of funding and weak coordination. Conclusion: The review highlighted that there is limited literature on factors affecting the implementation of safety interventions on most of the levels of the Social Ecological Model. There is need for extensive global research to fully understand what enables and impedes the implementation of safety interventions, as lack of attention to exploring these factors will result in non-reduction of fatalities. An effort to meet the UN's 17 global goals for sustainable development in fishing will be impossible. Furthermore, future knowledge translation should focus on the identified facilitators and barriers.