) Total lifetime sun exposure and intermittent intense exposure to the sun are the primary preventable risk factors for skin cancer, including malignant melanoma. Up to 80 percent of lifetime sun exposure is estimated to occur prior to age 18, and a single severe sunburn in childhood can double the risk of melanoma. Prevention of over-exposure to the sun, beginning at birth, has the greatest long-term potential for reversing the rising incidence of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The proposed study translates basic epidemiologic research on skin cancer and melanoma to a behavioral intervention aimed at reducing sun exposure in a cohort of newborns. In this randomized controlled trial, medical offices of an HMO will be randomly assigned to intervention or control. Pediatric care providers at intervention sites will deliver brief informational messages and resources for sun protection to parents of infants at well-child visits between age 2 and 36 months. Research in smoking cessation and screening mammography suggests that the physician messages will be a powerful promoter of behavior change. Annual interviews and skin exams will measure differences between intervention and control subjects in knowledge, attitudes and practices related to sun exposure, as well as differences in signs of sun exposure such as mole acquisition, sunburns, and tanning. Process evaluation, using provider surveys and exit interviews of parents, will determine the extent to which the intervention was delivered by providers. This study has the potential of discovering a important method of reducing skin cancer risk. In addition, it will extend knowledge regarding the impact of provider-delivered health promotion advice, and may identify a method for changing parents' behavior that could be translated to other health practices, such as diet and exercise.
| Asdigian, Nancy L; Barón, Anna E; Morelli, Joseph G et al. (2018) Trajectories of Nevus Development From Age 3 to 16 Years in the Colorado Kids Sun Care Program Cohort. JAMA Dermatol 154:1272-1280 |
| Joselow, Andrew; Lynn, Darren; Terzian, Tamara et al. (2017) Senescence-Like Phenotypes in Human Nevi. Methods Mol Biol 1534:175-184 |
| Barón, Anna E; Asdigian, Nancy L; Gonzalez, Victoria et al. (2014) Interactions between ultraviolet light and MC1R and OCA2 variants are determinants of childhood nevus and freckle phenotypes. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 23:2829-39 |
| Tran, Alexander D; Aalborg, Jenny; Asdigian, Nancy L et al. (2012) Parents' perceptions of skin cancer threat and children's physical activity. Prev Chronic Dis 9:E143 |
| Crane, Lori A; Asdigian, Nancy L; Barón, Anna E et al. (2012) Mailed intervention to promote sun protection of children: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Prev Med 43:399-410 |
| Gamble, Ryan G; Asdigian, Nancy L; Aalborg, Jenny et al. (2012) Sun damage in ultraviolet photographs correlates with phenotypic melanoma risk factors in 12-year-old children. J Am Acad Dermatol 67:587-97 |
| Aalborg, Jenny; Morelli, Joseph G; Byers, Tim E et al. (2010) Effect of hair color and sun sensitivity on nevus counts in white children in Colorado. J Am Acad Dermatol 63:430-9 |
| Crane, Lori A; Mokrohisky, Stefan T; Dellavalle, Robert P et al. (2009) Melanocytic nevus development in Colorado children born in 1998: a longitudinal study. Arch Dermatol 145:148-56 |
| Juhl, Ashley L; Byers, Tim E; Robinson, William A et al. (2009) The anatomic distribution of melanoma and relationships with childhood nevus distribution in Colorado. Melanoma Res 19:252-9 |
| Aalborg, Jenny; Morelli, Joseph G; Mokrohisky, Stefan T et al. (2009) Tanning and increased nevus development in very-light-skinned children without red hair. Arch Dermatol 145:989-96 |
Showing the most recent 10 out of 16 publications
