Job content, psychological well-being, burnout and fatigue driving among heavy goods vehicle drivers in Ghana
DOI: 10.1007/s44202-025-00367-y
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Summary
This study investigates the association between psychosocial work factors, psychological well-being, burnout, and fatigue driving among Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers in Ghana. Motivated by the high prevalence of road traffic crashes linked to fatigue and the informal nature of Ghana’s transport sector, the research aims to bridge a knowledge gap regarding how working conditions impact driver safety. The study seeks to inform occupational health and safety policies that prioritize driver well-being, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 8. The researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,575 HGV drivers (910 truck and 665 tanker drivers) in Tema, Ghana. Data were collected via structured interviews using validated instruments, including the Job Content Questionnaire, Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, and WHO-5 well-being index. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was employed to determine the predictive influence of psychosocial factors, well-being, and burnout on fatigue driving, while independent t-tests compared truck and tanker drivers. The analysis controlled for demographic variables such as age, sex, salary, education, and body mass index. Results indicated that psychosocial safety climate (PSC) was a significant protective predictor of fatigue driving (β = −0.1498, p < 0.001). Conversely, job insecurity (β = 0.0809), psychological demands (β = 0.0663), and burnout (β = 0.0927) significantly predicted higher fatigue levels. Psychological well-being also served as a protective factor (β = −0.0575). The final model explained 73.3% of the variance in fatigue driving. Comparative analysis revealed that truck drivers reported significantly higher psychological demands, fatigue, and work-family conflict than tanker drivers. In contrast, tanker drivers reported greater job resources, including higher levels of supervisor support, co-worker support, skill discretion, decision authority, and PSC. Supervisor support, BMI, and work-family conflict did not significantly predict fatigue in the final regression model. The findings underscore that improving PSC, enhancing psychological well-being, and reducing burnout are critical for mitigating fatigue driving in Ghana’s HGV sector. The study concludes that policies focusing on job security, supportive work environments, and manageable psychological demands can improve driver safety and health. By highlighting the distinct working conditions of truck versus tanker drivers, the research provides evidence for targeted interventions within the informal transport industry, emphasizing that addressing upstream psychosocial factors is essential for reducing road traffic crashes.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | Crossref | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| archive | success | canonical_url | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-26 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| enrich | success | openalex | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-20 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.
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