Exploring the awareness of construction employees on mental health problems: applying the health belief model

Purpose Poor mental health is a well-recognized issue in the construction sector. However, there is still little understanding of factors affecting construction employees’ awareness of mental health problems (MHP). This study aims to investigate the awareness of MHP among construction employees using the Health Belief Model (HBM). The research explores how various factors, such as perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action and self-efficacy, shape MHP awareness within the construction sector. Design/methodology/approach A structured four-step research methodology was employed. First, a literature review and expert validation identified 28 variables relevant to MHP awareness. A questionnaire was then developed and distributed to construction employees in Vietnam, with 238 valid responses collected. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were employed to validate the evaluation model. After that, fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) was used to assess the importance of each dimension of MHP awareness. Findings The results indicate that perceived barriers and perceived benefits were the two most significant factors in MHP awareness. The remaining dimensions – perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, cues to action and self-efficacy – were found to have a lesser but notable impact on MHP awareness. Originality/value This research comprehensively analyzes MHP awareness among construction employees using the HBM framework. The findings suggested that Vietnamese firms should focus on increasing cues to action and self-efficacy to improve MHP awareness among construction employees. This study also proposed that construction firms should provide more stress-reduction activities and training programs suitable to the Vietnamese context for their employees.