Firefighters Preventing Cancer Online Training Program

Firefighters Preventing Cancer: Cluster Randomized Trial of an Online Training Program for Cancer Prevention Behaviors in Volunteer Firefighters

The goal of this two-arm, Cluster Randomized Trial is to evaluate an e-health training program for volunteer firefighters to reduce their risk of exposures to carcinogens and to increase their understanding and intentions of behavior towards cancer prevention. One arm will receive an online e-health intervention for six months and the other arm will be considered as a waitlist control group which will be placed on a waitlist and receive the online treatment program some months later.

The project aims to evaluate the firefighters by measurement of current behavior, perceived importance, future behavioral intentions and perceived barriers for implementing decontamination behaviors at baseline, after the intervention and after 3-month follow-up before and after the intervention.

The intervention consists of three components:

1. a novel health information strategy, 90SecondFire Cancer health letters
2. a brief on-line course
3. a problem-solving asynchronous bulletin board to mobilize existing knowledge

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Cancer Prevention
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: e-health training program

Detailed Description

Firefighters face a serious risk of exposure to carcinogens from products of combustion. Modern materials burn hotter and may be even more toxic than older wood construction. Preventing the increased risk of cancer in volunteer firefighters has raised attention as they are more vulnerable to carcinogen exposure.

The goal of this two-arm, Cluster Randomized Trial is to evaluate an e-health training program for volunteer firefighters to reduce their risk of exposures to carcinogens and to increase their understanding and intentions of behavior towards cancer prevention. One arm will receive an online e-health intervention for six months and the other arm will be considered as a waitlist control group which will be placed on a waitlist and receive the online treatment program some months later. Up to 800 volunteer firefighters from approximately 40 volunteer fire departments in Canada will be recruited for both arms.

The project aims to evaluate the firefighters by measurement of current behavior, perceived importance, future behavioral intentions and perceived barriers for implementing decontamination behaviors at baseline, after the intervention and after 3-month follow-up through an online validated survey: Firefighter Exposure to Carcinogens Scale (FECS).

The intervention consists of three components:

1. a novel health information strategy, 90SecondFire Cancer health letters
2. a brief on-line course
3. a problem-solving asynchronous bulletin board to mobilize existing knowledge

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 179
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Nova Scotia
    • Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
      • IWK Health Centre

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Departments will be screened to meet the following criteria

1. Be a Volunteer Department
2. Be located in Canada
3. Consent to participate in the study via the Chief or delegate

Participant in the CRT study must meet all the following criteria to be eligible to proceed with the study:

1. Be a volunteer firefighter
2. Working for an all-volunteer fire department that has joined the study
3. Live in Canada
4. Has access to internet
5. Be able to read, write and understand English or French
6. Consent to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

The exclusion for Departments

1. Not a volunteer Department in other words to be a composite department with some volunteers and some career fire fighters or a department that has not joined the study
2. Not located in Canada
3. Not Consent to be in the study via the Chief or delegate

Any of the following criteria will exclude individuals from proceeding to consent:

1. NOT a volunteer firefighter
2. Working for a composite department with some volunteers and some career fire fighters or a department that has not joined the study
3. Does NOT live in Canada
4. Does not have access to internet
5. Is NOT able to read, write and understand English or French
6. Does NOT consent to participate in the study

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention Group; This arm will receive the online e-health intervention for six months. The intervention consists of three sections: a novel health information strategy, 90SecondFire Cancer health letters; a brief on-line course; a problem-solving asynchronous bulletin board to mobilize existing knowledge	Behavioral: e-health training program; Health letters, 44 issues of 90SecondFire Cancer health letters delivered twice a week during six months to firefighters by text or email; A problem-solving asynchronous chat room which encourages mutual support and exchange of ideas via a closed asynchronous bulletin board for peer-to-peer support; A brief 45-minute pre-recorded online course; it is intended as a summative exercise rather than providing new information.
No Intervention: waitlist control group; This group will be placed on a waitlist and will receive the online treatment program after six months.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Volunteer Firefighters' Intention to engage in reducing exposure and undertaking decontamination behaviour	In order to measure the changes in firefighter's intention during the study, the data will be collected by an online survey: Firefighter Exposure to Carcinogens Scale. The dimensions will be rated on a Likert scale. min :0 Max 4 ; The higher score does not mean a better outcome.	Baseline, After 6 month intervention and 3-month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Volunteer Firefighters' practice and perceived importance towards reducing exposure and undertaking decontamination behavior for cancer prevention	The data will be collected by an online survey: Firefighter Exposure to Carcinogens Scale . The dimensions will be rated on a Likert scale. min :0 Max 4 ; The higher score does not mean a better outcome.	Baseline, After 6 month intervention and 3-month follow-up
Volunteer firefighters' and their departments' perceived barriers in the development of reducing exposure and undertaking decontamination behaviors	The data will be collected by an online survey: Firefighter Exposure to Carcinogens Scale . The dimensions will be rated on a a Likert scale. min :0 Max 4 ; The higher score does not mean a better outcome.	Baseline, After 6 month intervention and 3-month follow-up
Comparing and detecting any association between the regular volunteer firefighters and the management team towards cancer prevention	The data will be collected by an online survey: Firefighter Exposure to Carcinogens Scale . The dimensions will be rated on a Likert scale. min :0 Max 4 ; The higher score does not mean a better outcome.	Baseline, After 6 month intervention and 3-month follow-up
Comparing characteristics of different volunteer Departments (Clusters) such as size and location of Department in terms of their future intention, current practice and perceived importance towards cancer prevention	The data will be collected by an online survey: Firefighter Exposure to Carcinogens Scale . The dimensions will be rated on a Likert scale. min :0 Max 4 ; The higher score does not mean a better outcome.	Baseline, After 6 month intervention and 3-month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: IWK Health Centre
• Collaborators: Laval University; Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 13, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 30, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 16, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 16, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): February 27, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 20, 2025
• Last Verified: January 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Cancer; Exposure; Decontamination; Firefighter
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1028192

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No