Sun Safe Workplaces: A Campaign on Sun Protection Policies for Outdoor Workers Phase I

NCT02824289 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: 0259R01CA134705
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 825
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

A sample of local government organizations are recruited to a group-randomized pretest-posttest controlled trial evaluating the effect of a campaign to promote workplace policy and education on sun protection for outdoor workers. Primary outcome is adoption of formal policies and secondary outcomes are implementation of policy and sun protection practices by outdoor workers.

Conditions

Skin Cancer

Keywords

skin cancer; prevention; worksite; policy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Presence of a Sun Protection Policy for Outdoor Workers Score at 2-Year Follow-up

  Project staff coded written workplace policy documents on the presence of 15 "content categories" in three domains: 1) environmental controls; 2) administrative procedures; and 3) personal protection practices. Presence of policy was defined as having one or more policy components present in the written workplace policy documents (value=1) versus no content components present (value=0). Total policy score was calculated by summing the number of policy components in the written documents (range = 0-15). Higher values indicate more comprehensive sun protection policy.

  2 year follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Extent of Sun Protection Policy for Outdoor Workers at Posttest

  From baseline to 2-year follow-up

Study Arms (2)

Sun Safe Workplaces Program

EXPERIMENTAL

Program promoting the adoption of occupational sun protection policies by the local government organization comprised of personal visits with senior managers and in-person training of outdoor workers by research staff over two years.

Behavioral: Sun Safe Workplaces Program

Attention Control

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Program promoting occupational sun protection practices by employees in local government organizations through two mailings containing educational materials and presentations at state professional meetings by project staff.

Behavioral: Attention Control

Interventions

Sun Safe Workplaces Program BEHAVIORAL

The intervention began by sending a Program Announcement Packet and requesting the first face-to-face meeting. At the first meeting, intervention staff covered: 1) Introduction to SSW; 2) Sun Safety Practices in the Workplace; 3) Sun Safety Policy for Outdoor Workers; 4) Sun Safety Policy Adoption; 5) Sun Safety Policy Reinforcement and Maintenance. They presented the SSW Website and a Sun Safety Tool Box. Following the first meeting, the manager scheduled Sun Safety Training by intervention staff with various employee groups. Workplace Sun Safety Materials were sent in four sets (twice a year over two years) for distribution to employees. Research staff made monthly Follow-up Contacts with managers.

Sun Safe Workplaces Program

Attention Control BEHAVIORAL

Research staff sent printed materials on occupational sun safety to local government organizations twice. These included posters with personal protection messages and skin cancer rates, risk assessment brochures, worksite guides, total skin self-examination CD-Rom, the American Academy of Dermatology SPOT bookmark, and a sun safety tip card from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Staff made presentations on general sun safety topics (not policy) at state professional conferences.

Attention Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• A local government organization with employees who worked outdoors in at least one of the following service areas: public works, public safety, and parks and recreation,
• Having a full time executive,
• Having a population of at least 3000 residents,
• Being employed at a participating local government organization as a manager
• Being employed at a participating local government organization in a job requiring outdoor work at least part of the time.

You may not qualify if:

• Organization had participated in the authors' previous occupational sun protection project.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Klein Buendel, Inc.: lead
• University of Colorado, Denver: collaborator
• Kaiser Foundation Research Institute: collaborator
• National Cancer Institute (NCI): collaborator

Study Sites (3)

Kaiser Foundation Research Institute

Oakland, California, 94612-3466, United States

Location

University of Colorado Denver

Aurora, Colorado, 80045-0508, United States

Location

Klein Buendel, Inc.

Golden, Colorado, 80403, United States

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Walkosz BJ, Buller DB, Andersen PA, Wallis A, Buller MK, Scott MD. Factors Associated With Occupational Sun-Protection Policies in Local Government Organizations in Colorado. JAMA Dermatol. 2015 Sep;151(9):991-7. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2015.0575.

  PMID: 25993051 BACKGROUND

• Wallis A, Andersen PA, Buller DB, Walkosz B, Lui L, Buller M, Scott MD, Jenkins R. Adoption of sun safe workplace practices by local governments. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2014 Nov-Dec;20(6):608-16. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000026.

  PMID: 24231670 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Skin Neoplasms

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Skin Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Limitations and Caveats

The trial was conducted in a state that may have increased relevance of sun safety. Local government organizations do not have a profit motive and may place a premium on employee benefits. Actions taken to implement policies were self-reported by managers, which is open to demand and social desirability biases, but policy scores were based on objective coding of written documents. Failure of some organizations to provide copies of documents at posttest may have caused us to miss policy change.

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. David Buller
• Organization: Klein Buendel, Inc.

dbuller@kleinbuendel.com

3035654321

Study Officials

• David B Buller, PhD

  Klein Buendel, Inc.

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: INDUSTRY
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 29, 2016
• First Posted: July 6, 2016
• Study Start: July 1, 2009
• Primary Completion: April 30, 2015
• Study Completion: December 31, 2015
• Last Updated: August 18, 2026
• Results First Posted: August 18, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (3)