VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF SELF-REPORTED EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO-SMOKE IN WORK OFFICES

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is an occupational carcinogen. Large companies often examine ETS exposure by employee surveys, However, re liable and valid self-report measures have been lacking. This study co mpared validity and reliability of various self-report measures, One h undred and seven nonsmokers from 11 Dutch worksites were interviewed. Three self-report measures were correlated with nicotine concentration s collected with area monitors in nonsmokers' offices. Nicotine concen trations averaged 12.7 mu g/m.(3) The item ''How much tobacco smoke, o n average, is there during a day in your work office?'' correlated hig hest with nicotine concentrations (r = 0.65; P < 0.001) and produced t he lowest standard error of measurement. It was concluded that this si mple self-report item may be a valid measure to assess the reach and e ffectiveness of worksite smoking policies.