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| NIOSH Home > Safety and Health Topics >Skin Exposures and Effects >Occupational & Environmental Exposures of Skin to Chemicals- 2005> Abstracts |
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Results from an intervention to prevent occupational skin diseases from wet work in the food processing industry
M-A. Flyvholm*1, L. Sell1, A. Jensen2, G. Lindhard3, K.F. Jepsen1 Background
Wet work occupations such as the health care sector and the food processing industry have high frequencies of work-related skin diseases. Intervention studies with one-year follow-ups were carried out in gut cleaning departments at swine slaughterhouses and in cheese dairies in order to prevent skin problems due to wet work. Methods
The intervention activities included an evidence-based prevention program and a documented method for implementation. The effects of the intervention were measured by telephone interviews at baseline and at one-year follow-up. The questionnaires used were based on a standardized questionnaire for work-related skin diseases and exposure (NOSQ-2002)* with additional questions on exposure, preventive measures, information and discussions on prevention of occupational skin diseases. Results
Among gut cleaners from the intervention departments the frequency of self-reported eczema on hands or forearms within the past 3 months showed a significant relative reduction of more than 25%. A minor increase was observed in the comparison departments. At the cheese dairies the frequency of self-reported eczema on hands or forearms were lower than expected, although significant decreases in other skin symptoms were observed in the intervention group at follow-up. Both among gut cleaners and employees at cheese dairies improvements in the use of protective measures (gloves and skin care products) were observed in the intervention groups. The intervention activities resulted in increased knowledge on prevention of skin problems and discussions of prevention at the workplace. Conclusions
This study has shown that especially for gut cleaners with a high eczema frequency at baseline and limited possibilities to diminish the high exposure to wet work, the frequency of work-related skin problems could be reduced by proper preventive measures. References
*) Susitaival P, Flyvholm M-A, Meding B, Kanerva L, Lindberg M, Svensson Å, Ólafsson JH. Contact Dermatitis 2003; 49: 70-76. Flyvholm M-A, Mygind K, Sell L, Jensen A & Jepsen KF. A randomised controlled intervention study on prevention of work-related skin problems among gut cleaners in swine slaughterhouses. Occup Environ Med (In Press). Sell L, Flyvholm M-A, Lindhard G, & Mygind K. Implementation of an occupational skin disease prevention program in Danish Cheese Dairies. Contact Dermatitis (In Press). Mygind K, Borg V, Flyvholm M-A, Sell L & Jepsen KF. A study of the implementation process of an intervention to prevent work-related problems in wet-work occupations. Int Arch Occup Environ Health (In Press).
Content last modified: 10 July 2005 |
