Vitamin D and UV exposure in construction workers-a randomized control trial using text messaging to promote positive behaviours

Occupational exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation in an eastern North Carolina university outdoor setting during the four seasons

Outdoor workers perform tasks throughout the year that expose them to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and increase their risk of UVR-related adverse health effects. Multiple studies on occupational solar UVR exposures during summer have been published but similar investigations during other seasons are limited. The purpose of this study was to assess solar UVR exposure in an eastern North Carolina university setting during all four seasons (fall, winter, spring, and summer) to assess risk for outdoor workers, particularly groundskeepers, throughout the year. UVR effective irradiance (UVReff) was measured by area monitoring using a digital data-logging radiometer and a weatherproof UVR detector for 164 days from October 2020 to October 2021. Results showed that hourly and daily mean UVReff exceeded the 1-hr and 8-hr ACGIH Threshold Limit Values (TLVs), respectively, in all months and seasons at varying degrees. Winter had the lowest mean UVReff (3.4 × 10-3 ± 1.7 × 10-3 mW/cm2), but 91.1% and 100% of the hourly and daily UVReff measurements, respectively, still exceeded the TLVs. This study demonstrates the risk of overexposure to solar UVR among outdoor workers during cold months and seasons and the importance of implementing UVR protection throughout the year.

Vitamin D status and COVID-19 prevention in a worker subgroup in Italy

BACKGROUND

Low levels of vitamin D are widespread in the world's population and associated with sun exposure, genetics, and lifestyles. Office workers in different occupational sectors seem more vulnerable than others. Scientific evidence reports a contribution of vitamin D in resistance to infections, opening to supplementation as a preventive action against pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2.

OBJECTIVE

A pilot campaign in the workplace during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was conducted based on the preliminary measurement of vitamin D amount and its integration.

METHODS

A preventive action to contrast the deficiency of vitamin D was offered to a population of 700 bank employees. Vitamin D supplementation was performed between April and June 2021, on workers (n = 139) and showed 25(OH)D serum levels ≤ 30 ng/ml. Demographic, anthropometric and lifestyle information were collected by survey and changes in the serum 25(OH)D amounts were monitored.

RESULTS

The adherence of the target population to the prevention campaign was 21%. 75% of the enrolled workers had low levels of vitamin D. After the intervention, serum vitamin D levels increased (1.28-fold;p = 0.0001) and 80% of the subjects reported optimal values > 30 ng/ml. Only 2.9% reported slight flu-like symptoms, but only 0.7% was confirmed as COVID-19, with respect to a ten-fold higher incidence in the general population.

CONCLUSIONS

Vitamin D supplementation can be achieved by simple and noninvasive approaches and can bring along further insights into health literacy on diet and lifestyles, representing an opportunity to protect the population by the widespread state of vitamin deficiency.

Digital interventions for promoting sun protection and skin self-examination behaviors: A systematic review

•

A considerable number of digital interventions for skin cancer prevention have been evaluated.

•

Most skin cancer digital interventions focus on sun protection-related outcomes.

•

Most interventions use web-based digital technology (websites, webpages, mobile apps) rather than videos, emails or text messages alone as the delivery platform.

•

Multi-component digital interventions are effective in promoting sun protection and skin self-examination.

•

Almost all studies found digital interventions to be equally or more effective compared to non-digital interventions.

The skin cancer incidence rate has been rising, and digital health interventions can promote skin cancer prevention and detection behaviors. A systematic review was conducted to investigate the outcomes of digital interventions that promote sun protection and skin self-examination (SSE). This review examined studies that utilized randomized controlled designs or quasi-experiments, included outcomes related to sun safety or SSE, employed at least one digital platform, and were published in English from January 2000 to October 2020. A total of 62 studies were included in the review. Digital modalities included web-based (e.g., websites) alone (n = 29), mobile-based (e.g., mobile apps) alone (n = 12), game-based (n = 1), emails or text messages alone (n = 8), videos alone (n = 6), social media (n = 3), both text messages and mobile apps (n = 2), or both text messages and video (n = 1). Most studies (n = 44) only evaluated sun protection-related outcomes, seven studies assessed SSE outcomes only, nine studies examined both, and two assessed other related outcomes. Digital interventions are effective compared to non-intervention control conditions in promoting sun safety or SSE. Almost all studies found digital interventions to be equally or more effective compared to non-digital interventions. This review suggests that although the digital interventions varied, they showed promising effects on improving sun protection or SSE outcomes. Future research should include more sophisticated phase-based and rigorous longitudinal research designs, additional investigation of social media and other newer technologies, as well as more detailed reporting of methods and results.

UK Postal Delivery Workers' Occupational Sun Safety: Using Behavior Change Theories to Identify Intervention Pathways

Postal delivery workers have substantial sun exposure. In the United Kingdom (UK) a high proportion of workers possesses a sun sensitive skin type. This population is at elevated risk for skin cancer, yet uptake of sun safety practices is low. Studies are needed to identify the underlying factors that contribute to the uptake of occupational sun safety practices that may be targeted during behavior change interventions. This study integrated the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Transtheoretical Model's stages of change (SoC) as guiding frameworks to identify underlying beliefs that influence UK postal delivery workers' uptake of occupational sun safety practices. Thirty-four workers participated in semi-structured interviews that used the SoC to establish current receptiveness to and adoption of two sun safety practices (using sunscreen of at least sun protection factor (SPF) 30 on exposed skin and wearing a wide-brimmed hat when working outdoors in the summer). Beliefs underlying current practices were elicited in accordance with the TPB and stratified by the SoC. For sunscreen use and wearing a wide-brimmed hat, 64% and 3% of participants were in the action or maintenance SoC, respectively. Behavioral and control beliefs differed by SoC, with those in the earlier stages more likely than those in the latter stages to report negative attitudes to, and difficulty enacting, sun safety practices. Normative beliefs concerning the views of colleagues and employers towards sunscreen were relatively consistent across the SoC. This study highlights the need for tailored and targeted behavior change interventions. The SoC-stratified accounts of the influence of TPB components on behavior provide a basis for bespoke interventions that reflect inter-individual and inter-practice differences in their working mechanisms.