Sun Safe Workplaces: A Campaign on Sun Protection Policies for Outdoor Workers

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1019 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2009-07-01

Study Completion Date

2015-12-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

A sample of local government organizations are recruited to a group-randomized pretest-posttest controlled trial evaluating the effect of a campaign to promote workplace policy and education on sun protection for outdoor workers. Primary outcome is adoption of formal policies and secondary outcomes are implementation of policy and sun protection practices by outdoor workers.

Related Clinical Trials

Explore similar clinical trials based on study characteristics and research focus.

Using Technology to Scale-Up an Occupational Sun Protection Policy Program

NCT03278340

Skin Cancer

COMPLETED NA

Sun Protection and Tanning Awareness in Rural Schools

NCT06694571

Melanoma Adolescents

COMPLETED NA

Go Sun Smart Georgia Evaluation

NCT06418672

Sun Safety

COMPLETED NA

Evaluating the Health Benefits of Workplace Policies and Practices - Phase II

NCT02050204

Focus of Study: Work Conditions

COMPLETED NA

A Mobile Health Intervention Among Hispanics

NCT05389332

Cancer of Skin

RECRUITING NA

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Workers in the United States spend large amounts of time on the job, making the workplace a key venue for preventive health programs. A workplace risk that has received limited attention is sun protection, despite the fact 8% of the U.S. workforce (over 9 million workers) work outdoors. The investigators have demonstrated that sun safety education can promote sun protection at work. In this revised application, the investigators propose to systematically study a more comprehensive approach to workplace sun safety that goes beyond employee education to promote institutional change. The investigators will implement and evaluate a proactive campaign to change workplace sun protection policies and promote sun safety to managers rather than individual employees. The investigators will assess whether policy adoption alters organizational operations in public employers rather than the private employers examined in our previous research. The specific aims are to: a) create a campaign comprised of personal contacts, printed materials, and Internet tools and resources (i.e., pubic health communication) to promote workplace sun protection policies to managers at public employers, b) evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign at promoting adoption and implementation of workplace sun protection policies, and c) assess whether policy adoption is associated in increases in workers' sun protection practices. An advisory board of public administrators and health experts has been constituted to advise the investigators on campaign and evaluation procedures. Analysis of public employers' existing policies and practices, additional in-depth interviews with public administrators, information design analysis, and usability testing will be conducted to develop an effective campaign. The campaign will be evaluated in a group-randomized, pretest-posttest controlled design. City and county governments in Colorado will serve as the unit of randomization and analysis. Interviews will be conducted with a sample of administrators at these public employers at baseline, interim posttest (n=6 per employer) and final posttest (n=5 per employer). In a subsequent four-year follow-up, surveys with employees and front line supervisors will assess employees' sun protection practices and workplace actions to support employee sun safety; (2) on-site observations of sun protection actions by the employers (e.g., posters, sunscreen, shade structures) will be documented; and (3) costs of implementing the policy campaign and induced employer costs will be tracked. Public employers will be studied because they employ a sizable number of outdoor workers (but results should generalize to for-profit companies). Outcomes will be evaluated at the employer, administrator, and employee levels. At the employer level, adoption of workplace sun protection policies at pretest and each posttest will be assessed with a protocol for coding written workplace policies (primary outcome measure) that demonstrated high reliability in a pilot study. At the administrator level, policy implementation (secondary outcome), theoretical mediators of adoption and implementation, and individual, organizational, political decision making and program variables that might moderate change will be measured in baseline, interim posttest (halfway through the intervention) and final posttest (end of intervention) surveys. At the employee level, analyses will compare the sun protection practices of employees between workplaces that received the intervention and controls and among workplaces that provided education and adopted policy, provided education only, and control workplaces. Analyses will also determine if the extent of sun protection actions by employers influences employees' sun safety practices. At the cost level, the economic evaluation will estimate the return on investment (i.e., comparison of the estimated program benefits to combined cost elements). The proposed study is significant and innovative because it provides critical information applicable to a wide range of industrial sectors with outdoor workers on a workplace risk that has received scant attention. Determining the effectiveness and return on investment of prevention programs is essential for national and local resource investment.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Skin Cancer

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Sun Safe Workplaces Program

Program promoting the adoption of occupational sun protection policies by the local government organization comprised of personal visits with senior managers and in-person training of outdoor workers by research staff over two years.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Sun Safe Workplaces Program

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The intervention began by sending a Program Announcement Packet and requesting the first face-to-face meeting. At the first meeting, intervention staff covered: 1) Introduction to SSW; 2) Sun Safety Practices in the Workplace; 3) Sun Safety Policy for Outdoor Workers; 4) Sun Safety Policy Adoption; 5) Sun Safety Policy Reinforcement and Maintenance. They presented the SSW Website and a Sun Safety Tool Box. Following the first meeting, the manager scheduled Sun Safety Training by intervention staff with various employee groups. Workplace Sun Safety Materials were sent in four sets (twice a year over two years) for distribution to employees. Research staff made monthly Follow-up Contacts with managers.

Attention Control

Program promoting occupational sun protection practices by employees in local government organizations through two mailings containing educational materials and presentations at state professional meetings by project staff.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Attention Control

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Research staff sent printed materials on occupational sun safety to local government organizations twice. These included posters with personal protection messages and skin cancer rates, risk assessment brochures, worksite guides, total skin self-examination CD-Rom, the American Academy of Dermatology SPOT bookmark, and a sun safety tip card from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Staff made presentations on general sun safety topics (not policy) at state professional conferences.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Sun Safe Workplaces Program

The intervention began by sending a Program Announcement Packet and requesting the first face-to-face meeting. At the first meeting, intervention staff covered: 1) Introduction to SSW; 2) Sun Safety Practices in the Workplace; 3) Sun Safety Policy for Outdoor Workers; 4) Sun Safety Policy Adoption; 5) Sun Safety Policy Reinforcement and Maintenance. They presented the SSW Website and a Sun Safety Tool Box. Following the first meeting, the manager scheduled Sun Safety Training by intervention staff with various employee groups. Workplace Sun Safety Materials were sent in four sets (twice a year over two years) for distribution to employees. Research staff made monthly Follow-up Contacts with managers.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Attention Control

Research staff sent printed materials on occupational sun safety to local government organizations twice. These included posters with personal protection messages and skin cancer rates, risk assessment brochures, worksite guides, total skin self-examination CD-Rom, the American Academy of Dermatology SPOT bookmark, and a sun safety tip card from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Staff made presentations on general sun safety topics (not policy) at state professional conferences.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* A local government organization with employees who worked outdoors in at least one of the following service areas: public works, public safety, and parks and recreation,
* Having a full time executive,
* Having a population of at least 3000 residents,
* Being employed at a participating local government organization as a manager
* Being employed at a participating local government organization in a job requiring outdoor work at least part of the time.