Using a Virtual Reality Tool to Provide Primary Prevention Training in the Construction Field Following a Periodic Medical Visit: Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

The construction field is highly concerned with the risk of work-related accidents, and training employees is difficult due to their small numbers in most companies.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to study the impact of a virtual reality (VR) training tool following a periodic occupational health medical visit on the feeling of personal effectiveness in preventing occupational risks related to co-activity on a construction site.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study with employees who had a periodic medical visit between April 1, 2022, and October 13, 2022, in a French occupational health service specializing in the construction field (Services Médicaux Interentreprises Bâtiment Travaux Publics [SMIBTP]). The employees were divided into 2 groups according to the training received: a medical visit alone or coupled with a session with a VR tool. We compared the scores for a "feeling of self-efficacy in occupational risk prevention" using the Fisher exact test.

RESULTS

Of the 588 employees included, 210 had a medical visit alone, and 378 had a medical visit coupled with VR training. Training with the VR tool was associated with an increased "feeling of self-efficacy in occupational risk prevention." The employees who benefited from the training reported a willingness to apply the advice given on prevention to a greater extent than those who did not, and they believed that risks on the worksite could be reduced using this tool.

CONCLUSIONS

Using VR training as a complement to periodic medical visits in an occupational health service improves the feeling of personal effectiveness in occupational risk prevention at the end of the training. If this trend is confirmed over a longer period of time, it could be an easily accessible prevention lever for employees in the future.

Occupational exposures in the rubber tire industry and risk of cancer: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed at investigate the association between cancer and the rubber tire industry using indicators used to estimate exposure, such as duration or historical time period of exposure.

METHODS

A systematic review using MEDLINE was carried out. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) statement guided the systematic review. The Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies of Exposures (ROBINS-E) was used to analyze biases in the selected studies.

RESULTS

A total of 240 articles were initially selected. Of these, 17 were included in this systematic review of 15 different cohorts and one case-control study. Five cohorts were composed of rubber industry employees including some who worked in the rubber tire industry, whereas the other 10 cohorts were composed exclusively of rubber tire industry employees. An increased risk of lung/respiratory cancer is possible in the oldest time periods without duration of exposure showing any association according to the analysis. The work areas of mixing and milling as well as compounding seem to be more specifically associated with this risk, which could be expected because of the exposure to fumes containing carcinogenic agents.

CONCLUSIONS

Having worked in the rubber tire industry in the past, especially in milling, mixing as well as compounding may be associated with an increased risk of lung/respiratory cancer.