Sun Exposure and Melanoma in Agricultural Workers

描述（由申请人提供）：此K 07职业发展奖申请旨在将我的职业发展从癌症病因学扩展到癌症预防和控制。 职业发展计划依赖于癌症预防研究专家的指导和“保护时间”，以促进我作为独立癌症控制研究人员的专业发展。 虽然我在流行病学和生物统计学方面接受过培训，也有专业知识，但很明显，我的职业发展需要更具体地接触行为研究方法和行为干预技术。 一个独特的人群，农业健康研究（AHS）队列，将被用来检查阳光照射，防晒行为，以及影响这些行为的因素，关于私人农药施用者（农民）及其配偶患黑色素瘤的风险。 这个职业发展计划整合了我的统计和流行病学专业知识，用于分析第一年的现有数据，并通过行为健康教育来培养我在测量影响行为的因素方面的技能，以及设计和实施行为干预措施的技能。 在第一年，我将参加课程，并在国家癌症研究所花2周时间了解更多关于农业健康研究（AHS）及其在我的共同导师Michael Alavanja博士指导下测量环境暴露的信息，以指导我分析与黑色素瘤相关的队列的现有基线数据。 然后，我将与我的导师约翰·洛博士在爱荷华州大学在第2-5年，以扩大我的调查技能，进行焦点小组，检查行为因素和行为态度，并发展在行为干预的技能。 该研究计划建议在爱荷华州和北卡罗来纳州（AHS）的这一前瞻性队列中检查与环境因素相关的私人应用者（主要是农民）及其配偶的皮肤黑色素瘤。 具体目标如下：目标1是使用针对皮肤敏感性和防晒进行调整的各种现有日光暴露措施来检查AHS队列中黑色素瘤的风险。 目的2是进行定性研究，使用焦点小组设计适当的措施，阳光照射，防晒行为，以及影响这些行为的因素，在私人涂抹器和他们的配偶在AHS。 目的3是在AHS队列中进行一项黑色素瘤的巢式病例对照研究，以更详细地检查阳光暴露史和保护行为。 目的4是利用队列研究和巢式病例对照研究的结果设计行为干预。 这些目标将导致R 01提案的发展，以a）调查整个AHS队列的阳光照射情况，以及B）作为独立的癌症控制研究人员进行行为干预。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This K07 Career Development Award application is designed to expand my career development from cancer etiology to cancer prevention and control. The career development plan rests on mentoring directed by experts in cancer prevention research and "protected time" to foster my professional development as an independent cancer control researcher. While I have training and expertise in epidemiology and biostatistics, it is becoming clear that my career development requires more specific exposure to behavioral research methodologies and behavioral intervention techniques. A unique population, the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) cohort, will be used to examine sun exposure, sun protection behavior, and factors affecting these behaviors regarding the risk of melanoma in private pesticide applicators (farmers) and their spouses. This career development program integrates my statistical and epidemiologic expertise for analyzing existing data in Year 1, with Behavioral Health education to develop my skills in measurement of factors affecting behavior and skills to design and conduct behavioral interventions. In Year 1, I will take courses and spend 2 weeks at the National Cancer Institute learning more about the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) and its measurement of environmental exposures under my co-mentor Dr. Michael Alavanja to guide my analysis of existing baseline data on the cohort related to melanoma. I will then work with my mentor Dr. John Lowe at the University of Iowa during Years 2-5 to expand my survey skills to conducting focus groups, examining behavioral factors, and behavioral attitudes, and develop skills in behavioral interventions. The research plan proposes to examine skin melanoma within this prospective cohort of private applicators (mostly farmers) and their spouses in Iowa and North Carolina (the AHS) in association with environmental factors. The specific aims are as follows: Aim 1 is to examine the risk of melanoma in the AHS cohort using various existing measures of sun exposure adjusted for skin sensitivity and sun protection. Aim 2 is to conduct qualitative research using focus groups to design appropriate measures of sun exposure, sun protection behavior, and factors affecting these behaviors in private applicators and their spouses within the AHS. Aim 3 is to conduct a nested case-control study of melanoma within the AHS cohort to examine in more detail sun exposure histories and protective behavior. Aim 4 is to use the results from the cohort and nested case-control studies to design a behavioral intervention. These aims will lead to the development of a R01 proposal to a) survey the whole AHS cohort about sun exposure, and to b) conduct a behavioral intervention as an independent cancer control researcher.