Educational Interventions Decrease Sunburns Among Heavy Equipment Operators

Implementation of educational interventions among operating engineers (heavy equipment operators) in Michigan significantly increased the use of sunscreen and decreased the number of reported sunburns, according to results from a randomized controlled trial published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“The rates of melanoma have been increasing in recent decades in the United States, and outdoor workers are at an increased risk for developing this deadliest form of skin cancer,” said Sonia Duffy, PhD, RN, FAAN, cancer control researcher at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute; professor and Mildred E. Newton Endowed Chair, College of Nursing at The Ohio State University in Columbus; and research scientist at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “We wanted to investigate how behavioral interventions can affect sunscreen use and sunburning among operating engineers as a way to prevent skin cancer.”

While prior studies have indicated that interventions can result in beneficial sun-safety behaviors among outdoor workers, a systematic analysis revealed that this population had inadequate sun-protective behaviors. Furthermore, in a previous analysis, Duffy and colleagues found that approximately two-thirds of operating engineers reported rarely or never wearing sunscreen, even though 80 percent of this population reported spending four to five hours per day in the sun during summer work hours. The use of sunscreen and protective clothing can mitigate exposure to UV radiation and decrease the risk of developing skin cancer.

Read more at American Association for Cancer Research