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Laura Eckhardt

Publications and source records attributed to Laura Eckhardt.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Validating outdoor workers' self-report of sun protection.

BACKGROUND: Few studies assessing sun safety behaviors have used validated survey instruments. Using an observational strategy, this study measured the validity of self-report of occupational sun protection behaviors. METHODS: Postal workers (N = 1,036) self-reported their frequency of protective clothing and sunglasses use during the past 5 workdays on Likert scales ranging from "Never" to "Always". Responses were dichotomized by Always vs. all other responses. Data collectors observed these same behaviors during mail delivery several days before survey administration. Agreement between the two measures was computed. RESULTS: Self-report for all items was significantly related to observed behaviors, with Kappa values in the good to excellent range (Kappas = 0.51-0.83). CONCLUSIONS: For outdoor postal workers, survey items assessing recent occupational use of sun-protective items had high levels of validity.

Adult↗

Indoor tanning facility density in eighty U.S. cities.

The purpose of this study was to examine the number of tanning facilities in select U.S. cities. The twenty most populated cities from each of 4 U.S. regions were selected for the sample. For each city, data on the number of tanning facilities, climate, and general demographic profile were collected. Data for state tanning facility legislation also were collected. A tanning facility density variable was created by dividing the city's number of facilities by its population size. The 80 cities had an average of 50 facilities each. Results of linear regression analysis indicated that higher density was significantly associated with colder climate, lower median income, and higher proportion of Whites. These data indicate that indoor tanning facilities are prevalent in the environments of U.S. urban-dwellers. Cities having the higher density profile may be logical targets for interventions promoting less or safer use of these facilities.

Beauty Culture↗