Screening Workers for Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica: Development and Usability of an Electronic Data Capture Tool

TL;DR

A digital tool was developed to collect data on workers' exposure to silica dust in the stone benchtop industry to assess silicosis risk.

Contribution

The development of a comprehensible and adaptable electronic data capture tool for occupational silica exposure assessment.

Findings

The refined tool, OSEAT, is comprehensible to workers and suitable for collecting exposure data.

OSEAT is adaptable for use in other countries and industries with silica exposure risks.

The tool supports both clinical screening and research data extraction.

Abstract

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.

To facilitate systematic data collection, including high-quality exposure assessment, an electronic data capture tool (EDCT) was developed.

A multidisciplinary team developed an EDCT using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap; Vanderbilt University). The needs of the EDCT were (1) data entry by multiple clinicians and the workers attending for screening and (2) systematic collection of data for clinical and research purposes. The comprehensibility and utility of the tool were investigated with a sample of workers, and the EDCT was subsequently refined.

The EDCT was used in clinical practice, with capacity for data extraction for research. Testing of comprehension and utility was undertaken with 15 workers, and the refined version of the Occupational Silica Exposure Assessment Tool (OSEAT) was subsequently developed.

The refined OSEAT has been determined to be comprehensible to workers and capable of collecting exposure data suitable for assessment of risk of silicosis. It was developed for workers in the SBI in Australia and is adaptable, including translation into other languages. It can also be modified for SBI workers in other countries and for use by workers from other industries (mining, construction) at risk of silica exposure, including in lower-income settings.

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