A Randomized Intervention in Collision Repair Shops

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of the proposed research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a randomized intervention designed to reduce exposure to diverse hazards among workers in small auto collision repair shops (Standard Industrial Classification Code 7532). The primary hypothesis of this study is that the availability and use of environmental and administrative controls and personal protective equipment will be greater, and exposure to physical and chemical hazards will be lower, after a comprehensive intervention implemented by owners and workers compared with a minimal intervention. The proposed study utilizes owner and worker auditing of the shop environment, the development of worker/owner health and safety goals and action plans, and periodic assessment of progress towards meeting these goals. Industry representatives and community-based partners will provide technical support and serve on a study Advisory Board. A randomized controlled trial with two groups will be used to test intervention effectiveness. Fifty shops will be randomly assigned to each group. Intervention mapping will serve as the planning model and Social Cognitive Theory will serve as the behavioral model. Study outcomes will be (1) A change in shop hazard score between baseline and two follow-up periods; (2) Changes in owner and worker knowledge and beliefs with regard to shop safety and hazard recognition; and (3) Qualitative measures including process evaluation, interviews, and focus groups. Shops will be evaluated at baseline (t1), nine months (t2), and 18 months (t3). After their second evaluation (t2), control shops will be enrolled as intervention shops. Public Health Significance: This proposal addresses the needs of a large community of workers and owners of underserved business establishments. New methods are needed to reach the community of owners and workers in small business establishments. These methods need to account for limited financial resources, geographically dispersed work sites, the wide range of knowledge among owners and workers, and the variability of site-specific health and safety programs. The approach proposed here allows for the affected community to be actively engaged in identifying problems and solutions, take part in the dissemination of health and safety programs, and assure new programs may be sustained on a long-term basis through trade associations, and community-based technical training programs.