Influence of Prefabricated Construction on the Mental Health of Workers: Systematic Review

Abstract

Despite the significant contribution of the construction industry to national and global economies, the risk it poses to the health and safety of its workers is concerning. With substantial improvement in physical health and safety performance, especially in industrialised and developed economies, attention has shifted to the mental health of construction workers. The construction industry has implemented several worker-focused and management-oriented intervention programs, but problems related to poor mental health persist, and the industry ranks high in suicide figures. Entering the Construction 4.0 era, the use of technologies and new construction methods have been touted to have the potential to improve mental wellbeing. Therefore, this research addresses this lingering problem by: (1) identifying and classifying stressors of mental health and (2) assessing the relevance of adopting prefabricated construction to improving mental health. A two-phased PRISMA-guided systematic review was conducted due to the nonavailability of past studies that combine the concepts of prefabrication and mental health. Mental health stressors were grouped into three categories, with industry-related identified as having an influence on management/organisational and personal stressors. Prefabricated construction, on the other hand, by virtue of its benefits over traditional construction, is found to be capable of eliminating, or at least reducing, the impact of industry-related stressors and, by extension, promoting good mental health.

Prefabricated Construction Risks: A Holistic Exploration through Advanced Bibliometric Tool and Content Analysis

“…Wuni and Shen [56] made significant contributions to the field through qualitative review methods, addressing notable research topics in PCRs. Fagbenro et al [57] performed systematic literature review to identify the influence of PC on mental health of workers. Li et al [58] highlighted the barriers to development of PC in China using the news analysis method.…”

A Comprehensive BIM Platform Development Based on Sustainable Construction Concept

“…Rasaki Kolawole Fagbenro and others in 2023 identified factors that affect the mental health of construction workers, such as concerns about job stability and work safety, conflicts arising from communication, and challenges to personal well-being from various sources [11]. To address the issue of poor mental health among construction workers, efforts should focus on promoting awareness of mental health literacy and creating awareness of utilizing leisure time for construction workers, with the aim of improving the physical and psychological work environment.…”

Defining occupational stress: A systematic literature review

“…Comparably, some authors identified 'Stress' as a positive outcome (Fontana,1989; as cited in Chow, 2009) (Item 7 as highlighted in Table 1), and some as negative (Campbell, 2006). Further, as stated by Fagbenro et al (2023), even though there are significant improvements in physical health, notably in safety, in developed countries, some industries still struggle with the problem of poor mental health among their workers. Moreover, according to Bremner et al (2020), stress-related psychiatric disorders exist.…”

“…Organisations are concerned mainly with the ability of their employees to execute work competently, effectively, and efficiently (Salam, 2016). Further, Fagbenro et al (2023) identified that the construction industry loses its active workers to mental health challenges and suicide, reducing productivity, contribution to economic growth, and overall workers' living standards in their study related to prefabricated construction and the health of the workers. Several studies on stress management concerning professionals working in different fields, such as education and healthcare, have been conducted (Bradshaw, 1991;Odigie, 2016;Quirke, 2001).…”