Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Human Factors
Date Submitted: Jul 9, 2024
Date Accepted: Nov 24, 2024
Screening of workers for exposure to respirable crystalline silica: development of the Occupational Silica Exposure Assessment Tool, an electronic data capture tool, and establishment of its clinical utility
ABSTRACT
Background:
Cases of the occupational lung disease silicosis have been identified in workers processing artificial stone in the stone benchtop industry (SBI). In the Australian state of Victoria, the Regulator commissioned a screening program for all workers in this industry.
Objective:
To facilitate systematic data collection, including high-quality exposure assessment, an electronic data capture tool (EDCT) was developed.
Methods:
A multi-disciplinary team developed an EDCT using REDCap. The needs of the EDCT were: (a) data entry by multiple clinicians and the workers attending for screening and (b) collection of data systematically for clinical and research purposes The comprehensibility and utility of the tool was investigated with a sample of workers and the EDCT was subsequently refined.
Results:
After development, use in clinical practice and data extraction for research, additional testing of comprehension and utility was undertaken with 15 workers. Subsequently, the refined version of the Occupational Silica Exposure Assessment Tool (OSEAT) was developed.
Conclusions:
The refined OSEAT has been determined to be comprehensible to workers and capable of collecting exposure data suitable for assessment of risk of silicosis. Originally developed for workers in the stone benchtop industry in Australia, it would be adaptable, with only minor adjustment, for workers speaking languages other than English, for workers in this sector in any country, and for use in workers from other sectors (mining, construction) at risk of silica exposure, including lower-income settings.
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