) As the only organization to institutionalize outdoor activities for children during a period of intense ultraviolet (UV) exposure, summer camps provide a unique channel for the delivery of cancer education to kids. Since excessive UV exposure causes skin cancer, camp programs that educate and encourage children to practice sun protection skills should serve as a powerful form of cancer education. In the controlled environment of summer camps, we will develop, integrate, and evaluate a skin cancer and sun protection education and training program designed to instill long-term behavior changes for children. This theory-driven intervention will target individual and organizational/environmental factors simultaneously. By initiating formal sun protection policies and training camp counselors who can educate campers, we aim to improve campers' sun protection behaviors, such as sunscreen use, wearing protective clothing, seeking shade and reducing mid-day sun exposure. We propose a three-year randomized study of five matched pairs of Massachusetts day camps, involving about 1000 children. After the first phase of program development, planning and pilot testing, five camps will receive the complete intervention (including sun protection policy change, counselor education, educational aids, and free sunscreen) while the five control camps will be offered standard information. Written surveys and direct observations of campers and counselors will help to evaluate short-term and long-term intervention effects.
The specific aims of this project are to: a) incorporate a model sun protection policy into standard camp policies b) measure improved sun protection knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of campers (ages 6-12) in intervention camps compared to those in control camps c) measure improved sun protection knowledge, attitudes and behavior of counselors in intervention camps compared to those in control camps. We hypothesize that: 1) Education and training for camp directors will lead to incorporation of new camp sun protection policies for campers and 2) Education and training of campers and counselors will increase their sun protection knowledge, attitudes and practices. We will summarize the complete program in a camp sun protection manual, transportable to camps nationwide. The successful demonstration of such an education and training program could serve as a cancer education model for our nation's youth.
