Promoting sun safety among US Postal Service letter carriers: impact of a 2-year intervention.
OBJECTIVE
We examined whether US Postal Service letter carriers who received a sun safety intervention would wear wide-brim hats and sunscreen significantly more often than those who did not receive the intervention.


METHODS
We used a 2-group randomized design with 2662 evaluation cohort participants from 70 US postal stations. Evaluations were conducted at baseline, 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years. Questionnaire items assessed occupational use of sun-screen and wide-brim hats. The 2-year sun safety intervention included the provision of wide-brim hats, accessible sunscreen, reminders, and 6 educational sessions.


RESULTS
At the 3-month follow-up evaluations, the odds ratio (OR) for regular sun-screen use was 2.8 times higher among the intervention group than among the control group (95% confidence interval [CI]=2.2, 3.5); at the 2-year follow-up evaluations, the rate was still significantly higher (OR=2.0; 95% CI=1.6, 2.6). Intervention group participants also had significantly higher rates of hat use, with the differences remaining consistent across all follow-ups (OR=2.9; 95% CI=2.3, 3.6).


CONCLUSIONS
The intervention should be disseminated to postal stations nationwide and possibly to other occupational groups that work outdoors.
Mayer
Joni A
JA
Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego 92123, USA. jmayer@mail.sdsu.edu
Slymen
Donald J
DJ
Clapp
Elizabeth J
EJ
Pichon
Latrice C
LC
Eckhardt
Laura
L
Eichenfield
Lawrence F
LF
Elder
John P
JP
Sallis
James F
JF
Weinstock
Martin A
MA
Achter
April
A
Balderrama
Cynthia
C
Galindo
Gabriel R
GR
Oh
Sam S
SS
D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009786:Occupational Health Services; D011177:Postal Service; D011322:Primary Prevention; D011481:Protective Clothing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017010:Reminder Systems; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013472:Sunlight / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013473:Sunscreening Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000078329:Workforce
D013473:Sunscreening Agents