Overexposure to the sun early in life is a major risk factor for the development of skin cancer later in life. The proposed Phase III project will study changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors as a result of a skin cancer prevention program for infants and young children operated through preschools and day care centers in the Denver metropolitan area. The intervention will include two major components: 1) A workshop intervention for directors and other staff of day care centers and preschools, in which participants will learn about risk of skin cancer and modes of prevention, and develop skin protection policies for use in their own centers/schools. 2) A packet of materials for parents, distributed through preschools and day care centers, which includes: information on risk of skin cancer and modes of prevention; teaming activities about skin protection which can be completed with young children; and sunscreen samples. These interventions will be evaluated by means of a randomized design in which 12 preschools/day care centers will be randomly selected to receive the intervention and 12 schools/centers will be randomly selected for a control group which receives the intervention at the end of the study period. Evaluation measures will include: 1) Pre- and post-intervention telephone surveys of preschool/day care center directors in which their sun protection policies (if existent) are documented and the actual practice of sun protection activities is quantified; 2) Observation of sun protection practices at preschools/day care centers; and 3) a post-intervention telephone survey of 240 randomly selected parents in which knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to sun protection for the whole family are assessed.
| Crane, L A; Schneider, L S; Yohn, J J et al. (1999) ""Block the sun, not the fun"": evaluation of a skin cancer prevention program for child care centers. Am J Prev Med 17:31-7 |
