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A graded work site intervention program to improve sun protection and skin cancer awareness in outdoor workers in
1Department of Dermatology, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel. esaz1@post.tau.ac.il
Objectives:
A graded worksite intervention program to improve sun protection and skin cancer awareness of outdoor workers was implemented and evaluated longitudinally over a period of 20 months.
Methods:
Outdoor male workers (144/213 recruits) from geographically separated units of the Israel National Water Company were allocated to complete (n = 37), partial (n = 72) or minimal (n = 35) intervention groups. Subsequent to the assignment and training of local safety officers, an educational and medical screening package was provided to the corresponding groups either once, or repeatedly a year later. Personal sun protective gear was provided upon repeated intervention. Outcome measures were evaluated through self-response questionnaires administered prior to the first intervention pulse, and 8 months after the first and second interventions.
Results:
A 15-61% improvement in sun-protection habits was noted in the entire study population 8 months after initialization, compared to no sunscreen use, 20% sun-exposed skin area and highest mean occupational exposure dose of 1.68 MED/day at pre-test. An even greater use of sunscreen was evident 1 year later in the complete and partial intervention groups, + 80% and + 52%, respectively. The baseline rate of self-examination of the skin in the same two groups (49%) increased significantly at post-test (+ 71% and + 53%, respectively).
Conclusions:
This integrated intervention program led to significantly improved sun protection and skin cancer awareness. Repeated intervention combined with the supply of sun-protective gear contributed to an even greater impact.