Effectiveness of an Intervention to Increase Construction Workers' Use of Hearing Protection

In this project we tested the effectiveness of a theory-based intervention (video, pamphlets, and guided practice session) to increase the use of hearing protection devices (HPDs) among Midwestern construction workers and a national group of plumber/pipefitter trainers. Posttest measures were collected 10--12 months following this intervention. Pender's Health Promotion Model (1987) provided the conceptual basis for development of the training program. A total of 837 highnoise- exposed workers were included in the analysis: 652 regional Midwestern construction workers and 185 national plumber/pipefitter trainers. Effectiveness of the intervention was determined through the sequence of analyses recommended by Braver and Braver (1988) for the Solomon Four-Group Design. Analysis of variance and covariance of postintervention use and intention to use HPDs and a meta-analytic test were done. These analyses indicated that the intervention significantly increased use of HPDs but had no effect on intention to use HPDs in the future. Pretesting had no effect on use. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidance in the development of successful theorybased interventions to increase use of HPDs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68025/2/10.1518_001872099779610969.pd

Unsound conditions: work-related hearing loss in construction, 1960-1975

"The study presented here is believed to be the first multivariate logistic regression analysis based on hearing-test data from national probability samples in the United States in the early 1960s and 1970s. Such data were collected on adults as part of the medical exam on the original Health Examination Survey, conducted in 1960-61, and on the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I), which was fielded in 1971-75. Both surveys were conducted under the auspices of the National Center for Health Statistics. Although subsequent surveys continued to collect hearing-test data on youth, no subsequent national survey to the authors' knowledge has incorporated hearing tests of adults. One motivation for this study was to assess the extent to which self-rated data on hearing loss, which has been collected on surveys after 1975, could serve as a reliable proxy for hearing-test data for future analyses. The self-rated data proved unreliable as proxies for hearing tests, however; the data are included on tables in annex A and discussed in annex B." - p. 2Norman J. Waitzman and Ken R. Smith."January 1999.""This research was funded with a $20,000 grant from CPWR--Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR), as part of a research agreement with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH (grants CCU310982 and CCU312014). The research is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH. CPWR -- the research and development arm of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO--is uniquely situated to serve workers, contractors, and the scientific community. A major CPWR activity is to improve safety and health in the US construction industry." - tp versoTitle from cover.Also available via the World Wide Web.Includes bibliographical references (p. 12)