 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Andrew F. Manthe, MPH, CHES, Skin Cancer Prevention Program, California Department of Health Services, P.O. Box 942732, MS-662, Sacramento, CA 94234-7320, (916) 322-2154, amanthe@dhs.ca.gov
Skin cancer, the most common cancer nationwide, is epidemic throughout the United States. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation in sunlight is the chief cause of skin cancer. Outdoor workers by default labor in high-risk environments for developing skin cancer. Yet it was not until 2000 that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration first released official sun safety guidelines, in bookmark format, for outdoor workers. The California Department of Health Services - Skin Cancer Prevention Program (SCPP) accepted the challenge to create a much more comprehensive sun-protection instructional kit that safety staff could utilize to teach outdoor-based employees to adopt sun-safety behaviors on the job. Kit components include fact sheets, brochures, a video, original posters, a bookmark, a policy template, skin cancer testimonials, a supervisor advisory, a quiz, notepads, and stickers, etc. The presentation will highlight campaign methods and accomplishments relative to SCPP’s placement of its “Sun Safety Kit for Outdoor-Based Businesses” at over 500 occupation sites during 2001 and 2002. Data will be presented as determined through evaluation measures including kit utilization survey responses, observed employee practice of sun-safe practices, and organizational incorporation of sun protection policies. The presentation will review the impact of the kit on individual employee sun-safety practices and the overall work site compliance with recommended skin cancer prevention measures. For example, the utility and impact of the kit to prompt improved sun-safety behavior and practice was found to rate at 4.3 on a scale of one (poor) to five (excellent).
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Cancer Prevention, Occupational Safety
Related Web page: www.dhs.ca.gov/cpns/skin/index.html
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.