Skin cancer risk perception and sun protection behavior at work, at leisure, and on sun holidays: a survey for Danish outdoor and indoor workers

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Abstract

Background

To prevent occupational skin cancer, it is essential that the sun-protective behavior of outdoor workers is adequate. The aim is to study the sun-protective behavior of Danish outdoor workers at work, at leisure, and on sun holiday and compare it to that of indoor workers.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study, based on a 53-item survey completed by Danish outdoor ( n = 380) and indoor workers ( n = 119) in 2016–2017. Status as outdoor or indoor worker was decided based on self-report and behavioral differences were tested using (paired) t tests and multiple regression adjusted for age, sex, educational level, history of smoking, and skin type.

Results

Danish outdoor workers at work use sun protection less than they do at leisure and on sun holiday ( α < .05) where their sun protection behavior is similar to that of indoor workers. The proportion of Danish outdoor workers that always/often use sun protection at work is for shade seeking around noon 4.2%, sunscreen 34.5%, wide-brimmed hat 25.3%, and long trousers and shirt with sleeves 42.4%. Of Danish outdoor workers, 49.5% do not think about the risk of occupational skin cancer and 11.8% think the risk is insignificant, 32.4% think that the use of sun protection is of low or no importance, 84.2% consider sunburn important as skin cancer risk factor still 88.9% have a history of sunburn at work, > 80.0% agree that risk of skin cancer is reduced by the use of sun protection, and only 4.0% dismiss the possibility of sun protection use at work.

Conclusions

Skin cancer risk and use of sun protection at work are largely neglected in Danish outdoor workers, more so than at leisure and on sun holiday where their risk behavior resembles that of indoor workers. This indicates an untapped workplace preventive potential.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12199-018-0736-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Most cited references 52

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Risk perceptions and their relation to risk behavior.

Noel Brewer, Neil Weinstein, Cara Cuite … (2004)

Because risk perceptions can affect protective behavior and protective behavior can affect risk perceptions, the relations between these 2 constructs are complex and incorrect tests often lead to invalid conclusions. To discuss and carry out appropriate tests of 3 easily confused hypotheses: (a). the behavior motivation hypothesis (perceptions of personal risk cause people to take protective action), (b). the risk reappraisal hypothesis (when people take actions thought to be effective, they lower their risk perceptions), and (c). the accuracy hypothesis (risk perceptions accurately reflect risk behavior). Longitudinal study with an initial interview just after the Lyme disease vaccine was made publicly available and a follow-up interview 18 months later. Random sample of adult homeowners (N = 745) in 3 northeastern U.S. counties with high Lyme disease incidence. Lyme disease vaccination behavior and risk perception were assessed. All 3 hypotheses were supported. Participants with higher initial risk perceptions were much more likely than those with lower risk perceptions to get vaccinated against Lyme disease (OR = 5.81, 95% CI 2.63-12.82, p <.001). Being vaccinated led to a reduction in risk perceptions, chi2(1, N = 745) = 30.90, p <.001, and people vaccinated correctly believed that their risk of future infection was lower than that of people not vaccinated (OR =.44, 95% CI.21-.91, p <.05). The behavior motivation hypothesis was supported in this longitudinal study, but the opposite conclusion (i.e., that higher risk led to less protective behavior) would have been drawn from an incorrect test based only on cross-sectional data. Health researchers should take care in formulating and testing risk-perception-behavior hypotheses.

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Effect of smoke-free workplaces on smoking behaviour: systematic review

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Occupational ultraviolet light exposure increases the risk for the development of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

R Bauer, T Diepgen, Bradley J. Schmitt … (2011)

Despite the fact that ultraviolet (UV) light exposure is the most important risk factor for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) there is an ongoing debate concerning the relationship between cumulative work-related UV exposure and SCC occurrence. To analyse comprehensively the relationship between work-related UV exposure and SCC risk. We conducted a systematic electronic literature search in PubMed (up to 5 May 2010) supplemented by a hand search, which identified 18 relevant studies that were included in the review. Data abstraction and study quality assessment was done independently by two reviewers. Maximally adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of all included studies were pooled in a random-effects meta-analysis. Sensitivity analysis included meta-regression on study-specific covariates to explore the robustness of the results and to identify sources of heterogeneity between studies. Eighteen studies (six cohort studies, 12 case-control studies) met the eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. Sixteen studies (89%) found an increased risk of SCC in individuals with occupational UV light exposure compared with individuals without occupational UV light exposure, reaching statistical significance in 12 studies. Two studies found no association between occupational UV light exposure and SCC occurrence. The pooled OR (95% CI) was 1·77 (1·40-2·22) and did not differ significantly between cohort studies [OR (95% CI): 1·68 (1·08-2·63)] and case-control studies [OR (95% CI): 1·77 (1·37-2·30)]. Meta-regression analyses suggested an increasing strength of the association between occupational UV light exposure and SCC risk with decreasing latitude. In summary, there is consistent epidemiological evidence for a positive association between occupational UV light exposure and SCC risk. © 2011 The Authors. BJD © 2011 British Association of Dermatologists.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Kasper Grandahl:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3593-0155

+45 23 34 03 71 , kagra@regionsjaelland.dk

Kristina Sophie Ibler: ksi@regionsjaelland.dk

Gunnar Hellmund Laier: guhl@regionsjaelland.dk

Ole Steen Mortensen: osm@regionsjaelland.dk

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Environ Health Prev Med

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Environ Health Prev Med

Title: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine

Publisher: BioMed Central (London )

ISSN (Print): 1342-078X

ISSN (Electronic): 1347-4715

Publication date (Electronic): 2 October 2018

Publication date PMC-release: 2 October 2018

Publication date (Print): 2018

Volume: 23

Electronic Location Identifier: 47

Affiliations

[1 ]ISNI 0000 0001 0674 042X, GRID grid.5254.6, The Department of Occupational Medicine, , Copenhagen University Holbaek, ; Gl. Ringstedvej 4B, 4300 Holbaek, Denmark

[2 ]GRID grid.476266.7, The Department of Dermatology, , Zealand University Hospital, ; Roskilde, Denmark

[3 ]ISNI 0000 0004 0639 1882, GRID grid.480615.e, PFI (Production, Research, Innovation) Region Zealand, ; Sorø, Denmark

[4 ]ISNI 0000 0001 0674 042X, GRID grid.5254.6, Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, , University of Copenhagen, ; Copenhagen, Denmark

Author information

Kasper Grandahl http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3593-0155

Article

Publisher ID: 736

DOI: 10.1186/s12199-018-0736-x

PMC ID: 6169023

PubMed ID: 30285623

SO-VID: a078039a-c173-468f-b58e-61d09d103ed1

License:

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

History

Date received : 22 March 2018

Date accepted : 14 September 2018

Funding

Funded by: Region Zealand Health Science Research Fund

Award ID: 15-000342

Award Recipient : Kasper Grandahl

Custom metadata

ScienceOpen disciplines: Occupational & Environmental medicine

Keywords: workplace,risk behavior,behavioral study,sunscreen use,icnirp,uv,osc,uv exposure,ultraviolet radiation,denmark,preventive action

Data availability:

ScienceOpen disciplines: Occupational & Environmental medicine

Keywords: workplace, risk behavior, behavioral study, sunscreen use, icnirp, uv, osc, uv exposure, ultraviolet radiation, denmark, preventive action

Skin cancer risk perception and sun protection behavior at work, at leisure, and on sun holidays: a survey for Danish outdoor and indoor workers

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Most cited references 52

Risk perceptions and their relation to risk behavior.

Effect of smoke-free workplaces on smoking behaviour: systematic review

Occupational ultraviolet light exposure increases the risk for the development of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

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