Worker Produced Health Education Material for the Construction Trades

Abstract

There is broad acceptance of the philosophic foundations of health education as grounded in the collaborative model of client and professional partnership. In practice, however, this partnership is largely dominated by the professional side. Workers may be particularly sensitive to professional domination as issues associated with health promotion vs. safety and health programs at the workplace are often politicized. This polarization is particularly evident in the area of asbestos-related hazard prevention, reduction, and education. Using asbestos hazards as the unifying theme, we participated in a program to facilitate active participation of workers in the production of their own occupational health education materials through the use of the photonovel. Representatives from some seven building trade locals worked with a staff to produce a twenty-four-page photonovel for their co-workers. A random sample of 500 members of building trades locals received either a copy of the photonovel or a popular NCI asbestos pamphlet with an evaluation questionnaire. Differences between the groups were evident in favor of the photonovel in readability, factual recall, general credibility, and attitudes toward future involvement in health and safety issues.