Outcome Study 2

"Oil Production and Refining Skin Care Program Evaluation"

Abstract

Although oil production and refinery workers are a workplace population at high risk for occupational contact dermatitis, no studies of the skin condition of the workers or the effects of a skin care program have been reported worldwide. Consequently, a comprehensive study and evaluation was carried out with Petrobras using two offshore oil platforms and an oil refinery. A comprehensive skin care program was implemented that included site surveys and analyses, a training program, and the use of GOJO products such as GOJO® POWER GOLD® Hand Cleaner (a heavy duty skin cleanser), GOJO® HAND MEDIC® Professional Skin Conditioner (GOJO Hand Creme) (a skin conditioner), Antibac (an antimicrobial lotion soap), PURELL (an antiseptic alcohol gel hand sanitizer), Lotion Skin Cleanser (a mild lotion soap), and SHOWER UP (a body and hair shampoo). A unified technical approach, which includes visual evaluation and skin bioengineering techniques, was employed to characterize skin condition and the effectiveness of the skin care program. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of using a comprehensive skin care program in the oil production and refining industries.

Comparison of the change in the skin condition of workers using the skin care program with those not using it (control group) demonstrated large significant (p<0.05) improvements in skin condition as shown by the skin hydration, skin moisture capacity, and expert evaluation measurements. Similarly, 75% of those using the skin care program rated their skin condition as significantly improved as compared to 87.8% of the control group that rated their skin condition as no improvement. The workers in the skin care program also rated the products: 87.9% gave the skin cleanser the highest overall rating possible and 89.6% gave the hand lotion the two highest overall ratings.

Results

A summary of the results of the Skin Condition Pre-Evaluation and Skin Condition Evaluation Questionnaires given to all of the workers in the study is given in Table 1 . The complete data is given in Appendix IV. The workers reported substantial improvement in each of the skin attributes after using the products while there were only small or no changes for the control group.

The results of the expert visual evaluation are given in Table 2 . It is apparent that dramatic and significant (p<0.05) improvements in skin condition can be observed on both the palm and the back of the hands. The results of the skin bioengineering measurements of skin hydration and skin moisture capacity are also given in Table 2 and illustrated in Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4. It is apparent that there are highly significant improvements (p<0.05) in both skin hydration and skin moisture capacity at all three sites from the Corneometer HM99 data. Similar improvements are seen in the data from the Corneometer CM825 at all three sites, however this data had a higher variance.