THERE IS A GROWING MANDATE FOR EMPLOYEE TRAINING ABOUT THE POTENTIAL HAZARDS OF SUBSTANCES ESPECIALLY CARCINOGENS, USEDIN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT.

THERE IS A GROWING MANDATE FOR EMPLOYEE TRAINING ABOUT THE POTENTIAL HAZARDS OF SUBSTANCES ESPECIALLY CARCINOGENS, USEDIN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT. THIS RESEARCH PROPOSAL IS DESIGNEDTO ANSWER QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OFVARIOUS TRAINING APPROACHES, NOT JUST THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF TRAINING VERSUS NO TRAINING. THE OVERALL RESEARCH GOAL IS TO ESTABLISH THE BEST TRAINING INTERVENTIONS FOR REDUCING OR ELIMINATING EXPOSURE TO CANCER HAZARDS IN OCCUPATIONAL SETTINGS. IN ORDER TO REACH THIS GOAL MEASURABLE BEHAVORIALOBJECTIVES MUST BE ESTABLISHED. A CURRICULUM MUST BE DEVELOPED. THE BASIC RESEARCH MODEL IS ONE IN WHICH AN INTERVENTION LEADS TO CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR WHICH IN TURN LEADSTO DECREASED EXPOSURE AND REDUCED RISK. SPECIFICALLY, VARIOUS TRAINING TECHNIQUES (INDEPENDENT VARIABLES) HAVE AN IMPACT ON EMPLOYEE BEHAVIORS (DEPENDENT VARIABLES) WHICH CANBE MEASURED (OUTCOMES) FOR THEIR RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS (EVALUATION). CONFOUNDING VARIABLES SUCH AS ATTITUDES AND POLICIES IN THE WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT ARE ALSO TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. THIS OUTCOME TO BE EXPECTED AS A RESULT OF THIS FIRST PHASE OF THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT WOULD BEA COMPLETE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, A RESEARCH DESIGN AND RESULTS OF A PILOT TEST OF THE PROGRAM. IN PHASE II OF THISPROJECT THE COMPLETED PROGRAM WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED AND EVALUATED. DURING PHASE III, A MARKETABLE AND TESTED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS WOULD BE PACKAGED FOR DISTRIBUTION.