What Encourages Sun Protection among Outdoor Workers from Four Industries

Objectives: We aimed to identify current practice of sun protection and factors associated with effective use in four outdoor worker industries in Queensland, Australia. Methods: Workplaces in four industries with a high proportion of outdoor workers (building/construction, rural/farming, local gove...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Janda, Monika, Stoneham, Melissa, Youl, Philippa, Crane, Phil, Sendall, Marguerite, Tenkate, Thomas, Kimlin, Michael
Format: Journal Article
Published: Japan Society for Occupational Health 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/31306
_version_ 1848753342261493760
author Janda, Monika
Stoneham, Melissa
Youl, Philippa
Crane, Phil
Sendall, Marguerite
Tenkate, Thomas
Kimlin, Michael
author_facet Janda, Monika
Stoneham, Melissa
Youl, Philippa
Crane, Phil
Sendall, Marguerite
Tenkate, Thomas
Kimlin, Michael
author_sort Janda, Monika
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Objectives: We aimed to identify current practice of sun protection and factors associated with effective use in four outdoor worker industries in Queensland, Australia. Methods: Workplaces in four industries with a high proportion of outdoor workers (building/construction, rural/farming, local government, and public sector industries) were identified using an online telephone directory, screened for eligibility, and invited to participant via mail (n=15, recruitment rate 37%). A convenience sample of workers were recruited within each workplace (n=162). Workplaces’ sun protective policies and procedures were identified using interviews and policy analysis with workplace representatives, and discussion groups and computer-assisted telephone interviews with workers. Personal characteristics and sun protection knowledge, attitudes and behaviors were collated and analysed. Results: Just over half the workplaces had an existing policy which referred to sun protection (58%), and most provided at least some personal protective equipment (PPE), but few scheduled work outside peak sun hours (43%) or provided skin checks (21%). Several worker and workplace characteristics were associated with greater sun protection behaviour among workers, including having received education on the use of PPE (p<0.001), being concerned about being in the sun (p=0.002); and working in a 2014 smaller workplace (p=0.035). Conclusions: Uptake of sun protection by outdoor workers is affected by a complex interplay of both workplace and personal factors, and there is a need for effective strategies targeting both the workplace environment and workers’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors to decrease harmful sun exposure further.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T08:22:59Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-31306
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T08:22:59Z
publishDate 2014
publisher Japan Society for Occupational Health
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-313062017-09-13T15:53:33Z What Encourages Sun Protection among Outdoor Workers from Four Industries Janda, Monika Stoneham, Melissa Youl, Philippa Crane, Phil Sendall, Marguerite Tenkate, Thomas Kimlin, Michael Objectives: We aimed to identify current practice of sun protection and factors associated with effective use in four outdoor worker industries in Queensland, Australia. Methods: Workplaces in four industries with a high proportion of outdoor workers (building/construction, rural/farming, local government, and public sector industries) were identified using an online telephone directory, screened for eligibility, and invited to participant via mail (n=15, recruitment rate 37%). A convenience sample of workers were recruited within each workplace (n=162). Workplaces’ sun protective policies and procedures were identified using interviews and policy analysis with workplace representatives, and discussion groups and computer-assisted telephone interviews with workers. Personal characteristics and sun protection knowledge, attitudes and behaviors were collated and analysed. Results: Just over half the workplaces had an existing policy which referred to sun protection (58%), and most provided at least some personal protective equipment (PPE), but few scheduled work outside peak sun hours (43%) or provided skin checks (21%). Several worker and workplace characteristics were associated with greater sun protection behaviour among workers, including having received education on the use of PPE (p<0.001), being concerned about being in the sun (p=0.002); and working in a 2014 smaller workplace (p=0.035). Conclusions: Uptake of sun protection by outdoor workers is affected by a complex interplay of both workplace and personal factors, and there is a need for effective strategies targeting both the workplace environment and workers’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors to decrease harmful sun exposure further. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/31306 10.1539/joh.13-0179-OA Japan Society for Occupational Health fulltext
spellingShingle Janda, Monika
Stoneham, Melissa
Youl, Philippa
Crane, Phil
Sendall, Marguerite
Tenkate, Thomas
Kimlin, Michael
What Encourages Sun Protection among Outdoor Workers from Four Industries
title What Encourages Sun Protection among Outdoor Workers from Four Industries
title_full What Encourages Sun Protection among Outdoor Workers from Four Industries
title_fullStr What Encourages Sun Protection among Outdoor Workers from Four Industries
title_full_unstemmed What Encourages Sun Protection among Outdoor Workers from Four Industries
title_short What Encourages Sun Protection among Outdoor Workers from Four Industries
title_sort what encourages sun protection among outdoor workers from four industries
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/31306