Browsed by
Tag: Outdoor Workers

Baseline Survey of Managers on Occupational Sun Protection in a Randomized Trial of Scale-up

Baseline Survey of Managers on Occupational Sun Protection in a Randomized Trial of Scale-up

Scale-up is the effort to increase the impact of successful prevention interventions to benefit more people on a lasting basis. Successful and affordable methods for scaling-up evidence-based programs are needed to prevent skin cancer among adults, particularly those who work outdoors in the sun.

Dr. David Buller, Director of Research at Klein Buendel, presented baseline findings from the scale-up of an occupational skin cancer prevention program at the 42nd Annual (Virtual) Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, April 12-16, 2021.

A randomized trial is being conducted to compare two methods of scaling up, nationwide, an effective occupational sun protection intervention, Sun Safe Workplaces, that promotes policy and education for outdoor workers. Departments of Transportation (DOTs) from 21 U.S. states are participating and their 138 regional districts were randomized following baseline assessment. The state DOTs range in size from 997 to 18,415 employees. At baseline, 1,113 managers (49.0%) completed the pretest. Managers were generally supportive of occupational sun safety policy, but also felt employees should take action on their own on sun protection. A minority reported that their DOT had a written policy or standard operating procedure on occupational sun protection. Just over half reported that the DOT provided training on sun safety to employees and/or managers and supervisors. About two-thirds reported that the DOT provided messaging on sun protection and sun protection resources, such as sunscreen, clothing, hats, or eyewear. Other sun safety actions were less commonly reported (for example, provision of shade, UV Index monitored and outdoor work activities adjusted, or employees encouraged to regularly check skin for signs of skin cancer.

Occupational sun exposure receives some attention at DOTs, mainly in the form of training and provision of sun safety resources. However, it appears that several employees may not be practicing sun protection because of lack of policy and/or sun safety prevention efforts. Policy on occupational sun safety is less common, despite the link of solar UV to skin cancer. Health promotion approaches that incorporate policy with education might help to improve implementation of sun safety at the workplace.

This research project (CA210259; Dr. David Buller, Principal Investigator) is funded as part of the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which aims to accelerate cancer research in order to make more therapies available to patients, while also improving the ability to prevent cancer and detect it at an early stage. Collaborators on the conference presentation include Dr. Richard Meenan from Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research, Dr. Gary Cutter from Pythagoras, Inc., Dr. Sherry Pagoto from the University of Connecticut, and Ms. Mary Buller, Ms. Julia Berteletti, Ms. Rachel Eye, and Dr. Barbara Walkosz from Klein Buendel. This baseline data is published in Contemporary Clinical Trails.

Listen to the Research Spotlight presentation.

Economic Evaluation of Adopting Occupational Sun Protection Policies

Economic Evaluation of Adopting Occupational Sun Protection Policies

In a recent publication in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Klein Buendel investigators and their colleagues discuss the economic evaluation of an intervention promoting adoption of occupational sun protection actions by Colorado public-sector employers.

The intervention, Sun Safe Workplaces (SSW), was a two-year randomized field trial promoting employer adoption of sun safety policy and providing training in personal sun protection for outdoor workers. The trial included 98 local Colorado government organizations such as municipalities, counties, and special districts (public organizations providing water, sanitation, parks and recreation, and fire protection). SSW intervention costs were organized into two components: “delivery” costs and “action” costs. Delivery costs were incurred to directly implement and maintain the SSW intervention and included costs of both project staff and the participating worksites. Action costs were incurred by the worksites themselves for implementing the sun protection actions.

The publication presents the results of the economic evaluation of SSW. A full description of the methods, measures, results, and conclusion of the research can also be found in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine publication.

This study demonstrated the interactions of cost and implementation that explain — and hopefully guide — the adoption of and investment in occupational sun safety. The SSW intervention was also successful in extending the adoption of sun protection actions among intervention worksites at a cost per employee that is comparable to other worksite health interventions.

This analysis was funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (CA134705; Dr. David Buller and Dr. Barbara Walkosz, Multiple Principal Investigators). The paper’s lead author is Dr. Richard Meenan from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Oregon. Additional authors include Dr. David Buller, Dr. Barbara Walkosz, Ms. Mary Buller, Ms. Rachel Eye, and Ms. Savanna Olivas from Klein Buendel; and Dr. Allan Wallis from the University of Colorado Denver.

Implementation of Occupational Sun Safety at a 2-Year Follow-Up in a Randomized Trial

Implementation of Occupational Sun Safety at a 2-Year Follow-Up in a Randomized Trial

The American Academy of Dermatology acknowledges that outdoor workers receive more UV radiation exposure and are at a higher risk for skin cancer than other workers.1 In a recent article e-published in the American Journal of Health Promotion, KB’s Dr. David Buller, Dr. Barbara Walkosz, and Mary Buller, along with multiple collaborators, evaluated the implementation of sun protection policies two years after the initial intervention, called Sun Safe Workplaces (SSW), in cities, counties, and special districts in Colorado with workers in public works, public safety, and parks and recreation. Authors were also interested in whether or not the organizational characteristics had an effect on the implementation of the sun safety policies.

In the original 24-month long study, 98 government organizations in Colorado were enrolled in 2010 and 2011 and half were randomly selected to receive the SSW intervention, where the primary outcome was adoption of a sun protection policy. Each of the organizations’ written workplace policies were assessed and senior managers completed surveys before and after the intervention. In 2015 and 2016, two years after the intervention was completed, the organizations were contacted for a second follow-up and 63 of the original 98 agreed to participate. Self-administered surveys were given to frontline supervisors and employees who worked outdoors by key contact managers. Project staff visited each organization to conduct semi structured interviews with key managers and complete an audit of the workplace for sun protection messages and items.

Implementation of sun protection policies was measured in three ways: 1) inspection of the workplace for sun protection messages and personal sun protection items, such as shade structures or sunscreen; 2) reports from frontline supervisors on whether the organization communicated with employees about sun safety, had unwritten standard operating procedures on sun safety, or provided personal sun protection equipment for employees, such as wide-brimmed hats, sunscreen, long-sleeved shirts, long pants, etc.; and 3) reports from employees on whether they had received any training on sun safety at the workplace or sun safety communication from the organization or a coworker.

Results showed that two years after the initial intervention, sun protection messages and sun protection items were used more often in organizations that were originally part of the intervention group compared to the control group. Survey responses from frontline supervisors at intervention organizations also showed more communication about sun protection to employees, more standard operating procedures on sun safety and more free/reduced cost sunscreen than those from control organizations. Sun protection training and sun safety communication from coworkers and the employer was higher in intervention organizations when compared to control organizations. Additionally, organizations with a sun protection policy implemented more sun safety actions (communication about sun safety and provided personal sun protection equipment) than organizations without a policy.

The authors conclude that the SSW intervention appeared to increase local government organizations’ sun safety actions over time. Authors state that formal policies on sun protection and training together appear to be an important part of occupational sun protection efforts. A full description of the methods, results, conclusions, and limitations of this study can be found in the publication in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

This research was funded by the National Cancer Institute (CA187191; Dr. David Buller and Dr. Barbara Walkosz, Principal Investigators). Collaborators/coauthors include Mary Buller from Klein Buendel, Dr. Allan Wallis from the University of Colorado Denver, Dr. Peter Andersen from San Diego State University, Dr. Michael Scott from Mikonics, Inc., Dr. Richard Meenan from Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research, and Dr. Gary Cutter from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Reference

  1. Outdoor workers and skin cancer. Safety+Health. September 23, 2018. Available at: https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/17480-outdoor-workers-and-skin-cancer. Accessed January 14, 2019.