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Family Determinants of Sun-Safe Behaviors in Hispanic Children

Family Determinants of Sun-Safe Behaviors in Hispanic Children

Melanoma is common, particularly among Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW). However, Hispanics are diagnosed at more advanced stages compared to NHW prompting the need for more research into Hispanic sun protection practices.  

Sarah Davila, Klein Buendel collaborator and student from Claremont Graduate University, recently presented findings on family determinants of child sun protection from the Sun Safe Schools project at the virtual 2020 American Public Health Association conference. Family determinants of child sun protection have seldom been tested among Hispanics. The team hypothesized that parent sun protection behavior, perceived risk for skin cancer, skin-phenotype, and purchase of sun protection products, along with child skin-phenotype and interaction of child skin-phenotype with child ethnicity would associate with child sun protection behavior and child sunburn. To test this, parents of elementary school-aged children completed self-report surveys and a multilevel analysis was conducted with Hispanic and NHW parents nested within schools and nested within districts.  

Parent sun protection behavior, number of sun-safe items purchased, and child skin-phenotype were all positively associated with child sun protection behavior, while parent perceived risk was negatively associated. The interaction of child skin-phenotype with child ethnicity was significant, indicating no difference at Type 1 skin-phenotype, but greater protective behavior for Hispanics relative to NHW for subsequent skin-phenotypes. Parent perceived risk and child skin-phenotype were also positively associated with child sunburn. Overall, the results suggest a need for parent modeling and environmental controls to increase sun protection behavior in Hispanic children.  

This research was funded by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (HD074416; Dr. Kim Reynolds and Dr. David Buller, Multiple Principal Investigators). Other authors included Dr. Richard Meenan from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon; Dr. Jeff Ashley from Sun Safety for Kids in Los Angeles, California; Kim Massie previously from Claremont Graduate University; and Julia Berteletti, Mary Buller, and Lucia Liu from Klein Buendel. 

Supporting Implementation of Sun Safety Policies in Schools

Supporting Implementation of Sun Safety Policies in Schools

Many schools in California are working to increase sun protection practices by students, parents, teachers, and staff in an effort to reduce over-exposure to ultraviolet radiation and prevent skin cancer in the long term. A paper published recently in Preventive Medicine presents the results of a large randomized trial assessing an intervention designed to close a sun safety policy-practice gap in California elementary schools. The trial tested the hypothesis that schools with sun safety policies randomly assigned to receive the Sun Safe Schools intervention would implement more sun safety practices than schools in a minimal information control group.

Research collaborators from Claremont Graduate University, Klein Buendel, the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, and Sun Safety for Kids, Inc. implemented the Sun Safe Schools program in 118 elementary schools from 40 California public school districts. Each school district had a school board-approved policy for sun safety (Board Policy 5141.7). The 20-month intervention was delivered to principals and included a coaching session, telephone and email contacts, resources for implementing sun protection practices, and a small grant program (for example, to purchase sunscreen for students).

The Sun Safe Schools intervention was effective at narrowing the sun safety policy-practice gap in participating California elementary schools. The program increased the total number of sun safety practices implemented by intervention schools compared to control schools. Also, more intervention schools’ sun safety practices reflected elements of district policy and sometimes went beyond the elements included in district policy. Detailed descriptions of the sample, measures, methods, analyses, outcomes, strengths, and limitations of the randomized controlled trial can be found in the Preventive Medicine publication.

The research was funded by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (HD074416; Dr. Kim Reynolds, Claremont Graduate University, and Dr. David Buller, Multiple Principal Investigators). Coauthors, in addition to Dr. Reynolds and Dr. Buller, include Kim Massie formerly from CGU; Dr. Jeff Ashley from Sun Safety for Kids in Los Angeles, California; Dr. Richard Meenan from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon; and Julia Berteletti and Mary Buller from Klein Buendel.

Economic Analysis of a School-based Sun Protection Program

Economic Analysis of a School-based Sun Protection Program

The U.S. Surgeon General and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called on the nation’s schools to help prevent skin cancer by implementing sun safety practices and policies. The Sun Safe Schools program was designed by Klein Buendel researchers and collaborators in response to those calls to action. The program was implemented and evaluated with 118 public elementary schools in California school districts with formal sun safety policy. Administrators of schools randomized to the Sun Safe Schools intervention group received phone and email support for implementing school sun safety practices by trained coaches over 20 months.

A significant part of the program evaluation — an economic analysis — has been e-published ahead of print in the American Journal of Health Promotion. The lead author is Dr. Richard Meenan, a Senior Investigator and Health Economist from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon.

The publication reports the methods, analyses, results, conclusions, and limitations of the economic analysis. Sun Safe Schools program delivery costs were micro-costed and self-reported school practices were organized into ten categories that were assigned labor and non-labor costs. Across 53 intervention schools, per-student delivery costs averaged $0.69, of which $0.44 represented school administrator time. Program delivery costs, the costs of implementing sun safety practices (such as student education, parent outreach, and shade construction), and predictors of costs are detailed in the publication.

The authors conclude that a program of phone and email coaching of elementary school administrators in school districts with formal sun safety policies can stimulate implementation of sun safety practices at a reasonable cost. The results can assist school administrators with the implementation of sun safety practices.

The Sun Safe Schools program was a collaborative research effort of Claremont Graduate University (CGU), the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, and Klein Buendel. The research was funded by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (HD074416; Dr. Kim Reynolds, CGU, and Dr. David Buller, Klein Buendel, Multiple Principal Investigators). Other collaborators included Dr. Richard Meenan from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research; Dr. Jeff Ashley from Sun Safety for Kids in Los Angeles, California; Kim Massie previously from CGU; and Julia Berteletti, Xia (Lucia) Liu, and Mary Buller from Klein Buendel.

Parents’ Reports of School Communication on Sun Safety

Parents’ Reports of School Communication on Sun Safety

The U.S. Surgeon General and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called on the nation’s schools to help prevent skin cancer by implementing sun safety practices and policies. The Sun Safe Schools program was designed by Klein Buendel researchers and collaborators in response to those calls to action. The program was implemented and evaluated with 118 public elementary schools in California.

Dr. David Buller, Klein Buendel Director of Research, presented data on the impact of the Sun Safe Schools intervention on parents’ reports of sun safety communication from schools and children’s sun protection behavior at the 12th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health in Washington, DC, December 4-6, 2019.

Schools randomized to the Sun Safe Schools intervention group (N=58) received support for implementing school sun safety practices by trained coaches over 20 months. Based on Diffusion of Innovations Theory, support and resources for implementation were tailored to school principals’ readiness to implement. Parents completed an online posttest survey through invitations sent by principals or while attending parent-oriented school events. Parents were surveyed to test the hypothesis that parents would report more communication about sun safety at schools receiving the intervention than at control schools.

The Sun Safe Schools program appeared to increase communication on sun safety and the use of student sun protection. Parents in intervention schools were more likely to report receiving information about sun safety from the school and that their children wore sun-protective clothing than in control schools. The improvement in sun safety appeared to result from policy implementation. In schools where principals reported implementing sun safety practices at posttest, parents reported that children spent less time outdoors and had fewer sunburns than at non-implementing schools. Further, parents who received information about sun safety from the school reported more sun protection for their child than parents not receiving the information.

In summary, a school district-level policy, combined with active technical support for schools within the district, appears to be effective at increasing implementation of school sun safety practices to help protect children from solar ultraviolet radiation, the primary risk factor for the development of skin cancer.

The Sun Safe Schools program is a joint research effort of Claremont Graduate University (CGU), the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, and Klein Buendel. The research was funded by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (HD074416; Dr. Kim Reynolds, CGU, and Dr. David Buller, Multiple Principal Investigators). Other collaborators included Dr. Richard Meenan from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon; Dr. Jeff Ashley from Sun Safety for Kids in Los Angeles, California; Kim Massie previously from Chapman University; and Julia Berteletti and Mary Buller from Klein Buendel.

Implementation of Sun Safety Policies in Public Elementary Schools

Implementation of Sun Safety Policies in Public Elementary Schools

Klein Buendel Research Program Manager, Julia Berteletti, presented insights from a randomized controlled trial that tested a technical assistance program designed to help principals implement district sun safety policies in elementary schools at the 40th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, March 6-9, 2019 in Washington, DC.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Surgeon General have advised the nation’s schools to adopt and implement sun protection policy to reduce children’s exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation to prevent skin cancer. A total of 118 elementary schools from 40 California public school districts that had adopted a school board-approved policy for sun safety were recruited and the principal and a teacher at each school reported on school sun protection practices at baseline and posttest.

Half of the schools were randomly assigned to receive the 20-month Sun Safe Schools intervention, delivered by trained Sun Safety Coaches who met with principals, described the district policy, helped them select and plan implementation of sun safety practices, and provided support and resources matched to the principal’s readiness to implement practices based on Diffusion of Innovation Theory. Control schools received a minimal information treatment containing basic school sun safety information from the CDC, the National Association of State Boards of Education, and U.S. Surgeon General.

Compared to controls, principals at intervention schools reported implementing more sun safety practices in general, whether present in the district’s written policy or not. Similarly, teachers at intervention schools reported implementing a larger number of sun safety practices in general, including practices in their district’s written policy or not, compared with control schools. Overall, the intervention was effective at increasing sun safety practices in public elementary schools. However, convincing school districts to adopt policies may be only the first step in improving sun safety practices becasue districts need to actively disseminate the new policy to schools and provide assistance and materials to facilitate implementation.

This research was supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (HD074416; Dr. Kim Reynolds, Principal Investigator). Collaborators in addition to Julia Berteletti, include Dr. Kim Reynolds and Kim Massie from Claremont Graduate University in California; Dr. David Buller and Mary Buller from Klein Buendel; Dr. Jeff Ashley from Sun Safety for Kids in, California; and Dr. Richard Meenan from Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Oregon.

Cost Analysis of a Sun Safety Program at California Elementary Schools

Cost Analysis of a Sun Safety Program at California Elementary Schools

The Surgeon General’s 2014 Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer emphasized the importance of sun safety for schools. However, limited cost data exist to inform implementation decisions regarding school sun safety practices. In response, Dr. Richard Meenan from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (KPCHR), presented data on the costs of delivering a sun protection policy intervention to public elementary schools in California at the 11th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health in Washington DC, December 3-5, 2018.

The Sun Safe Schools (SSS) program, a joint research effort of Claremont Graduate University (CGU), KPCHR, and Klein Buendel (KB), provided technical assistance to California public elementary schools interested in implementing sun safety practices consistent with their district board policy for sun safety. The research design included a randomized trial of SSS that assessed its effectiveness in promoting implementation and an economic evaluation of the SSS program.

Fifty-eight intervention schools and 60 controls participated. Principals at intervention schools received regular phone and email contact from trained SSS coaches over 20 months to support implementation of selected sun safety practices. Rolling recruitment and intervention occurred over 47 months (2014-18). Study outcome data are from a posttest survey of school principals. Intervention delivery costs were virtually all labor (SSS coach and principal time). Implemented practices were organized into ten categories (such as student education and outdoor shade) and micro-costed using a project-developed template. Required school labor and non-labor resources for implementation were estimated for each practice. Three elementary school principal consultants reviewed the template for appropriateness.

Intervention delivery costs and costs of implemented practices for intervention schools and control schools were presented and are being submitted for publication. Principals’ beliefs about the importance of sun protection were positively correlated with policy implementation, both in numbers of implemented policies and overall dollars invested. Results indicated that a low-cost program of regular phone and email coaching of school administrators can successfully stimulate implementation of sun safety practices in elementary schools at a reasonable cost. Costs per student were similar to other school health practices. These findings can assist administrators with selecting and implementing appropriate sun safety practices for their schools.

This research was supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (HD074416; Dr. Kim Reynolds, Claremont Graduate University, Principal Investigator). Collaborators in addition to Dr. Reynolds and Dr. Meenan include Kim Massie from Claremont Graduate University in California; Dr. David Buller, Julia Berteletti, and Mary Buller from Klein Buendel; and Dr. Jeff Ashley from Sun Safety for Kids in Los Angeles, California.