Evaluation of the Dangerous Decibels Brazil Program in Workers Exposed to Noise

Luciana Bramati; Jair Mendes Marques; Claudia Giglio Oliveira Gonçalves; David Welch; Ravi Reddy; Adriana Bender de Moreira Lacerda

doi:10.3389/fnint.2022.909972

Evaluation of the Dangerous Decibels Brazil Program in Workers Exposed to Noise

Front Integr Neurosci. 2022 Jul 14:16:909972. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2022.909972. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Luciana Bramati¹, Jair Mendes Marques¹, Claudia Giglio Oliveira Gonçalves¹, David Welch², Ravi Reddy³, Adriana Bender de Moreira Lacerda⁴

Affiliations

¹ Program in Communication Disorders, Tuiuti University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
² School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
³ Occupational Safety and Health, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
⁴ School of Speech Therapy and Audiology, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: Noise-induced hearing loss can be avoided by taking preventive measures.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the Brazilian version of the Dangerous Decibels^® program for noise-exposed workers, using the ecological model as an educational intervention plan.

Method: Non-randomized interventional study with a quantitative, experimental trial design, conducted at a meatpacking company. The participants were divided into two groups-the first one (n = 132, divided into 6 subgroups) received the Dangerous Decibels^® Brazil educational intervention (DDBEI) adapted to workers while the second group (n = 138, divided into 5 subgroups) received a conventional educational intervention (CEI). The interventions lasted 50 min. The Hearing Protection Assessment Questionnaire (HPA-5) was administered before and after the interventions. The five dimensions (attitude, behavior, knowledge, supports, and barriers) were compared using the Student's t-test for paired data (<0.05).

Results: After both the DDBEI and CEI training, workers improved significantly in barriers, supports, knowledge, attitudes, and behavior around noise. By chance, the CEI group scored lower in all measures than the DDBEI group before training, and though both groups improved, the difference was maintained after training.

Conclusion: The Brazilian version of the Dangerous Decibels^® program for noise-exposed workers was effective, influencing positively the factors at different levels of the ecological model. Though the DDBEI was no more effective than the CEI, the CEI participants began at much lower levels, so the effectiveness of the DDBEI may have been underestimated.

Keywords: attitudes; habits; hearing; hearing protection; knowledge; noise-induced hearing loss.