Simultaneous communication of study results to workers and management at multiple locations.
Authors
Ahrenholz-S; Kubale-T
Source
American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 1-6, 2002, San Diego, California. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2002 Jun; :72
Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) Health-Related Energy Research Branch (HERB) conducts a program of independent occupational research at Department of Energy (DOE) facilities throughout the United States. HERB communicates the results of all of its studies to current and former workers at DOE sites. Simultaneous presentation of study results at multiple geographically distant sites needs to occur at or before the time the report is released to the general public. Numerous challenges are encountered in the process of communicating the results of these epidemiologic studies. Challenges include: simplicity; speed; simultaneous release and communication of study results to workers and management; ability to reach current and former workers; development of a product that may be redistributed without modification; and follow-up by recipients seeking additional information. The first study where these challenges were addressed required the presentation of results from a mortality study involving almost 70,000 women from 12 DOE sites in eight states and four time zones. Methods used included: a one-page document providing an overview of the study and how more information may be obtained; an e- mail contact list using a common e-mail program that facilitates simultaneous distribution of the document either as an attachment or a fax; conference call capabilities; video conference resources; and relayed distribution by site contacts of the one-page document contents to current and former workers. Additional information was available through NIOSH 800# resources and addresses and phone numbers of study author(s) and NIOSH were provided.
Keywords
Workers; Management-personnel; Epidemiology; Occupational-health; Workplace-monitoring; Workplace-studies
Priority Area
Other Occupational Concerns
Source Name
American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 1-6, 2002, San Diego, California
