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Sun safety in construction: A UK intervention study

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journal contribution
posted on 2015-08-24, 08:46 authored by Jonathan Houdmont, P. Madjwick, Raymond RandallRaymond Randall
Background: Interventions to promote sun safety in the UK construction sector are warranted given the high incidence of skin cancer attributable to sun exposure relative to other occupational groups. Aims: To evaluate change in sun safety knowledge and practices among construction workers in response to an educational intervention. Methods: A baseline questionnaire was administered, followed by a bespoke sector-specific DVD-based intervention. At 12-month follow-up participants completed a further questionnaire. Results: Analyses were conducted on a sample of 120 workers (intervention group, n = 70; comparison group, n = 50). At follow-up the proportion of intervention group participants that reported correct sun safety knowledge was not significantly greater than at baseline. However, the intervention group demonstrated significant positive change on nine out of ten behavioural measures, the greatest change being use of a shade/cover when working in the sun followed by regularly checking skin for moles or unusual changes. Conclusions: Exposure to this intervention was linked to some specific positive changes in construction workers’ self-reported sun safety practices. These findings highlight the potential for educational interventions to contribute to tackling skin cancer in the UK construction sector. The findings support the development of bespoke educational interventions for other high-risk outdoor worker groups.

Funding

This study was funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

History

School

  • Business and Economics

Department

  • Business

Published in

Occupational Medicine

Citation

HOUDMONT, J., MADJWICK, P. and RANDALL, R., 2015. Sun Safety in Construction: A UK Intervention Study. Occupational Medicine, 66(1), pp.20-26.

Publisher

© Oxford University Press (OUP)

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publisher statement

This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Publication date

2016

Notes

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Occupational Medicine following peer review. The version of record HOUDMONT, J., MADJWICK, P. and RANDALL, R., 2015. Sun Safety in Construction: A UK Intervention Study. Occupational Medicine, 66(1), pp.20-26. is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqv140

ISSN

1471-8405

Language

  • en