Self‐reported skin exposure – validation of questions by observation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to validate questions regarding skin exposure using observation. The study group consisted of 40 individuals in 5 different occupations: nurse in an intensive care unit, car mechanic, hairdresser, kitchen worker, and office worker. The participants completed a questionnaire before the start of a working day. The questionnaire covered total skin exposure times to water, foodstuffs, chemicals, and occlusive gloves and also covered the frequency of hand-washing during a working day. Observers subsequently used a hand-held computer to register the time and the frequency of each exposure. A strong correlation between self-reports and observations was found for questions regarding exposure times to water, foodstuffs, and occlusive gloves and also a moderate correlation for questions regarding frequency of hand-washing. The present observation method was insufficient for estimating total exposure times to chemicals as the true exposure time is influenced by, e.g. the use of contaminated protective gloves and the efficacy with which the chemicals were removed. The inter-observer reliability showed a very strong correlation. We consider the questions regarding skin exposure to water, foodstuffs, protective gloves, and hand-washing to be useful for future studies. The observation method seems to be reliable, useful, and easy to apply.

Duration of wet work in hairdressers

“…As a questionnaire alone would not give accurate information on exposure (Jungbauer et al 2004a), we chose the direct observation as a golden-standard method to measure exposure in hairdressers to wet work (Anveden et al 2006). Analysis of the work steps by direct observation had been already applied in a study on office cleaning activities (Jungbauer et al 2004b).…”

“…We used the direct observation as a standard method (Anveden et al 2006) to analyse the work steps and to measure DWW in hairdressers. To our knowledge, any described method of measuring DWW in hairdressers does not exist.…”

Validation of self‐reported occupational exposures in meatpacking workers

“…While several studies have validated exposures in various settings [Oh et al, 2004;Anveden et al, 2006], exposure recall in a hazardous, high-paced, and repetitive work environment such as meatpacking may be especially challenging. This industry remains one of the largest employers in the United States, with 503,000 workers employed in 2006 [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006].…”

LegionellaAntibodies in a Danish Hospital Staff with Known Occupational Exposure

“…This poses the problem of recall bias, but recall bias will affect both groups equally as no one is aware of having antibodies. Self-reported exposure time and frequencies of exposure at work seem to be valid and useful [19]. …”