Sun Protection Behaviors of State Park Workers in the Southeastern USA.

BACKGROUND: Due to the nature of their work, state park workers receive substantial exposure to sunlight, putting them at an increased risk of developing skin cancer. Increased use of sun protection behaviors can reduce this risk. OBJECTIVES: Using the health belief model (HBM) as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to assess factors associated with sun protection behaviors among state-park workers. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a convenience sample of participants were recruited from 23 state parks in the Southeastern USA to complete a self-administered questionnaire based on the constructs of the HBM. RESULTS: The sample comprised 310 state park workers. The majority of participants were non-Hispanic White (61.6%), male (63.5%), and were aged 39.56 (±13.97) years on average. The average duration of sun exposure during the workday was reported as 3.51 h (±1.88). Nearly 12% of the participants reported that their workplace had a sun-safety policy and ~10% reported receiving sun-safety training at their workplace. The majority of participants reported that they did not sufficiently use sun protection methods. Factors associated with sun protection behaviors included the HBM constructs of perceived benefits outweighing perceived barriers (standardized coefficient = 0.210, P = 0.001), self-efficacy (standardized coefficient = 0.333, P < 0.001), and cues to action (standardized coefficient = 0.179, P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Future research should explore the barriers to adopting and enforcing sun-safety policies in the workplace. HBM appears to be efficacious in explaining sun protection behaviors among state park workers. HBM constructs should be considered in future interventions aimed at increasing sun protection behaviors in this population.

Skin cancer preventative behaviors in state park workers: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: Considering the potential for occupational sun exposure among state park workers, the purpose of this pilot study was to identify skin cancer knowledge, health beliefs, self-efficacy, and sun protection behaviors (SPBs) among state park employees. METHODS: The current study used a cross-sectional survey research design with state park workers in a Southern state. Of the 94 possible employees who could have participated in the study, 87 completed the survey. RESULTS: Assessment of the participants' skin cancer knowledge demonstrated an average correct response rate of 68.8 %. While the vast majority (87.4 %) believed that skin cancer is a serious disease, a minority (42.5 %) believed they would develop skin cancer sometime during their lifetime, and even fewer (35.6 %) believed their risk was higher than average. Collectively, workers reported low levels of SPBs. The most commonly reported barriers to sun protection were "inconvenient," "too hot to wear," and "forget to protect." Half of the participants (50.6 %) were highly confident in their ability to wear long pants while in the sun. About the same proportion of participants was highly confident they could wear a wide-brimmed hat (21.8 %) and sunscreen (20.7 %). CONCLUSIONS: Based on available evidence, a need exists to develop individual and worksite programs and interventions to increase skin cancer prevention behaviors among this occupational group. This data could serve as a baseline to monitor and evaluate the efficacy of these interventions.