Ninth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

The incidence of melanoma skin cancer continues to rise in the United States. Children are particularly vulnerable with the American Academy of Dermatology reporting five or more blistering sunburns between ages 15 and 20 increases one’s melanoma risk by 80 percent. Perhaps much of good sun hygiene is influenced by parents and school officials. Therefore, a holistic approach is prudent when educating and promoting sun health for children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate school-based health promotion programs in order to inform policies to improve skin cancer education and prevention. We completed a literature search on MEDLINE using skin cancer, pediatric, and health education keywords. The studies included in this paper fit the following parameters: published within the past five years, conducted in a school, evaluated their results in a quantitative manner. Of 992 results, 13 papers met our criteria. The majority of interventions used pre- and post-intervention questionnaires to measure student knowledge (n=10). However, when participants reported behavior changes, results were often inconsistent or insignificant. Also, the majority of the studies occurred on a single day (n=10). Conclusion: The studies included in this paper succeeded in improving participants’ knowledge of skin cancer prevention. However, they inconsistently changed behavior. This failure allows an opportunity for schools to implement policies and build environments which promote skin cancer prevention. For example, schools can consider providing sunscreen to students or implementing longitudinal skin cancer prevention programs.