Helping outdoor workers reduce skin cancer risk

QUT health promotion specialist Dr Marguerite Sendall is reducing skin cancer risk for outdoor workers. Credit: Image courtesy of Queensland University of Technology

Skin cancer is one of the biggest fears for one in two outdoor workers and when the boss and staff work together the sun safe message gets through, a QUT study has found.

The study, which found more than 50 per cent of outdoor workers rated UV radiation exposure at work as one of their biggest concerns, also identified how a workplace intervention could improve workers' behaviours and attitudes towards sun protection to reduce their risk of skin cancer.

QUT in collaboration with Cancer Council Queensland and Curtin University worked with 14 Queensland outdoor workplaces from farming, construction, public service and local government industries to develop personalized sun protection action plans.

After adopting these individualized plans, the number of workers who reported using sun protection increased significantly.

Professor Michael Kimlin and Associate Professor Monika Janda, from QUT's AusSun Research Lab, led the intervention program and the results have been published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine titled "Changes in Outdoor Workers' Sun-Related Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviours: A Pre-Post Workplace Intervention."

"The message is simple, outdoor workers who see their workplace, supervisors and bosses supporting sun protection measures will follow their lead," Professor Janda said.

"Providing better programs, which take into account the specific workplace tasks and culture can make a difference."

QUT health promotion specialist Dr Marguerite Sendall, who was involved at the grassroots level in implementing the workplace interventions, said the study worked closely with workplaces to develop and implement a tailored sun safety plan, encouraging sun awareness and supporting sun protection practices at work.

"The program was about working together in partnership with workplaces, taking into account their individual circumstances and environment, and developing realistic and sustainable strategies," Dr Sendall said.

"It was this partnership and customized strategies that made this study a success and led to significant improvements in the way workplaces and employees approached sun safety."

Dr Sendall said after the 12 months intervention, the results revealed when a workplace was sun safe there was a significant improvement in the attitudes and behaviours of outdoor workers when it came to sun protection.

"For example, the proportion of workers who checked their skin for early signs of skin cancer increased after the intervention program, with 80 per cent reporting they had conducted a skin check in the previous 12 months," Dr Sendall said.

"Ten per cent more workers also had their skin checked by a doctor.

"The study found after the intervention, 20 per cent more workers said they usually or 

always seek natural shade, 25 per cent more workers wore broad-brimmed hats, 19 per cent more wore long-sleeved collared shirts and 16 per cent wore long trousers," she said.

Dr Sendall said there was also a shift in outdoor worker attitudes.

"The proportion of workers who agreed their workplace enforced sun protection and agreed their supervisors protected themselves increased by 10 per cent to 76 per cent of all workers," she said.

One of the workplaces to take part in the study was Goondiwindi Regional Council and workplace champion Andrew Singh said the tailored intervention had produced tangible results.

"At our council, after introducing the intervention, the road construction crew adopted a number of sun safe initiatives," Mr Singh said.

"For example, the council provided portable shade structures to be used during breaks, vehicle windows were tinted and our staff swapped baseball-style caps for broad-brimmed hats.

"Overall, what we found was workers were keen to follow these sun safe measures as they saw their initiatives were welcomed and keenly supported by the mayor, councillors and management."

Dr Sendall said the study highlighted the importance of a consistent sun safe workplace culture.

"Despite ongoing public health campaigns, outdoor workers remain a difficult to reach group but if we can take care in making the sun protection program really relevant to their personal circumstances and work environment, the potential health benefits are significant."

Source: Queensland University of Technology

Through the Google Glass

WFU Instruction librarian Amanda Foster adjusts Google Glass for a student. Credit: WFU/Ken Bennett

In a class called Accessing Information in the 21st Century, instruction librarian Amanda Foster is using a new technology tool to do just that.

It's Google Glass or just Glass, as the techno giant likes to call it. While it's been widely covered in the media, chances are most people have yet to see it first hand. Foster is interested in examining the possibilities of how Glass or related technologies could be used in the future, particularly in the educational setting for teaching, learning and research.

Glass is a type of wearable computer headset, similar to a pair of sleek glasses and displays information on a mini screen in the upper right corner of the wearer's field of vision. Wearers can communicate with Glass via voice commands to search the Internet, take pictures and video, play games and more.

"We are very curious to see how it's going to work in the classroom. We don't know yet how it's going to impact education, and we don't know if it's even a good thing or what kind of contributions it can make," said Foster, whose class is designed to teach students how to conduct research in the library. "It's kind of an interesting case study in and of itself. But librarians are also really interested in informational literacy -- how we access information in the 21st century and what the future of that is going to look like."

The idea for Foster's class is to have students use Glass as a catalyst to research, discuss, explore and reflect on information-related themes, such as privacy, social responsibility and the future implications of technologies in medicine, business, education and gaming.

"Google Glass brings about a lot of interesting questions related to privacy and our social interactions with other people," she said.

Foster got the green light and funds to experiment with Google Glass from Lynn Sutton, vice provost and ZSR Library dean.

So she jumped in, bought the device and taught herself how to use it. "It was definitely a trial and error process and that's what the classroom experience was like at first, too," she said.

Foster purchased one device because of the expense and had to come up with creative ways for a class of 15 to 20 students to use it. She planned projects for them to work together in small groups of four. They conducted scavenger hunts in the library, taking pictures with Glass to prove their success and used the video function to make tutorials on how to use library databases. Another project had them conduct research on a topic specific to Glass such as privacy and related laws and social interactions. One of the most enjoyable assignments was performing skits about the do's and don'ts of using Google Glass -- demonstrating what is appropriate behavior in public when you're wearing the device, Foster said. "The students are really interested in the social aspect of it, of wearing this thing on your face and how that might enhance or impede social interactions. That is something we've been able to explore."

A student's perspective

Freshman Chris Schafer said he took every opportunity to wear Glass that he could because he wanted to test its capabilities.

"I absolutely loved Glass, mainly because it's so new and rare to the market," he said, adding that he would likely purchase his own device if the price came down.

Schafer was even able to show Foster something new about Glass. "I was able to discover the wink feature for taking a picture that Ms. Foster could not even figure out," he said, "so I had the Glass programmed to my wink only, and as long as I winked hard enough, a picture would be taken."

So far, Foster is the only instructor on campus trying Google Glass though she is aware of university professors elsewhere who are using it and blogging about it.

"ZSR is known across campus as well as in the academic library community for encouraging innovation and taking risks," said Sutton. "I was happy to support Amanda with her creative proposal. Where better to investigate the intersection of technology and privacy than a library classroom with Wake Forest students?"

Foster said the most successful aspect of using Glass in class is how students were really engaged with the content. "While there's room for improvement, I think it has potential to be really successful in higher education," she said. "It's been a wonderful way to bring about discussion on these interesting information-related issues that are at the heart of how we access information and what the future of that is going to look like."

Source: Wake Forest University