Test of a Web-based Intervention to Promote Hearing Protector Use

In a pilot study, hearing protection devices were mailed to farmers, resulting in a significant increase in use. These results suggested that overall, HPDs were acceptable to farmers, and that access to HPDs may be an important contributor to frequency of use. The study will build on this earlier work by providing an assortment of hearing protection devices to a sub-sample of each group of farmers receiving the Interactive and Static Web Interventions. The assortment includes the most commonly used types of devices (i.e., muffs, foam plugs, pre-molded plugs, and semi-aurals). The sampler is delivered, together with manufacturers' standard written instructions for use, via mail at the designated time according study design.

The standard information promoting HPD use delivered via Internet will be based on an informational brochure previously developed for use by farmers (i.e., Have You Heard? and They're Your Ears Protect Them). These brochures, including color graphics and text, are available on the Internet (as PDF files). Although they have been printed and distributed by NIOSH, most farmers will not have been exposed to copies. There are important differences between the SWI and IWI interventions, including interactivity, animation, explication of farmer-generated tips and techniques for addressing common barriers to hearing protector use, use of color, audio, and video, hotlinks, and farmer testimonials.

This intervention includes a number of features/techniques designed to promote behavior change. Messages focus on farmer-friendly techniques for adopting use of HPDs. The factors found to be significant predictors of HPD use (Barriers to Use and Situational Factors Influencing HPD Use) are particularly relevant to farmers' learning needs, and are especially emphasized in this model-based intervention to increase hearing protector use among farmers. Participants will select the sequence of features they visit, as well as the time spent in each feature and number of visits to the site. Their patterns of use will be tracked by the enrollment and data collection systems and used in analysis.