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Adopting Policy to Eliminate Indoor Tanning

Adopting Policy to Eliminate Indoor Tanning

Dr. David Buller from Klein Buendel joined two other behavioral scientists to publish a Viewpoint in JAMA Dermatology in April calling on dermatologists and others to support legislative efforts and other policies in their local areas to help dramatically curtail indoor tanning in the United States. The other two authors were Dr. Carolyn Heckman from the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Dr. Jerod Stapleton from the University of Kentucky.

The Viewpoint describes policy and regulation as “among the most effective strategies for influencing health behaviors and public health.” Indoor tanning restrictions in multiple states are helping to reduce skin cancer incidence and death.  Achieving continued and additional restrictions will require concerted research, advocacy, and policy efforts to overcome remaining barriers to new laws and to close lingering gaps in existing laws.

In their editorial, the authors put out a Call to Action to dermatologists to increase their awareness of local indoor tanning laws, or lack thereof, and to educate their patients, legislators, school boards, local business groups, and others about the dangers of indoor tanning and the need for more restricted use, especially by minors.

The Viewpoint was published online in JAMA Dermatology on April 28, 2021.

Results of a Social Media Campaign to Prevent Indoor Tanning by Teens: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Results of a Social Media Campaign to Prevent Indoor Tanning by Teens: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Indoor tanning (IT) increases the risk of developing melanoma. A social media campaign to reduce mother’s permissiveness toward their teenage daughters’ IT was designed and evaluated by Dr. David Buller, Director of Research at Klein Buendel, and his research team. He gave a presentation on the Health Chat campaign at the virtual 71st Annual International Communication Association Conference, May 27-31, 2021.  

A total of 869 mothers of teenage daughters aged 14-17 in 34 states without bans on IT by minors were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial with two assessments, baseline and 12-month follow-up in 2017-19. A year-long adolescent health campaign was delivered to all participants. The intervention group received posts on preventing IT while the control group received posts about preventing prescription drug misuse. Mothers completed assessments of permissiveness for daughters to indoor tan, self-efficacy for refusing permission, communication with daughters about avoiding IT, attitudes and intentions toward IT, IT behavior, and support for state IT bans. Daughters (n=469; 54%) completed the assessments at baseline and at 12 months.  

At the 12-month follow-up, intervention-group mothers were less permissive of IT by daughters, reported more communication with daughters about avoiding IT, and had lower intentions to indoor tan than control-group mothers. Daughters confirmed intervention-group mothers communicated about IT and shared IT posts more than control-group mothers.  

Overall, a social media campaign may be an effective strategy to convince mothers to withhold permission for IT, which may help increase the effectiveness of state laws designed to reduce IT by minors by requiring parental permission.  

This research was funded by a grant and supplement from the National Cancer Institute (CA192652; Dr. David Buller and Dr. Sherry Pagoto, Multiple Principal Investigators). Collaborating authors include Dr. Sherry Pagoto and Jessica Bibeau from the University of Connecticut; Dr. Kimberly Henry from Colorado State University; Dr. Katie Baker and Dr. Joel Hillhouse from East Tennessee State University; and Dr. Barbara Walkosz and Julia Berteletti from Klein Buendel. 

Mothers’ Support for Laws Restricting Indoor Tanning by Minors

Mothers’ Support for Laws Restricting Indoor Tanning by Minors

The Health Chat research team published some findings related to indoor tanning from their Facebook-delivered cancer risk reduction intervention and randomized trial with mothers and teen daughters as an abstract in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. The research team would have presented the work at the 41st Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in San Francisco, had the conference been held as planned.

Indoor tanning is associated with increased risk for melanoma, especially in young women. Several states restrict indoor tanning by minors or require parental permission. The authors of this abstract hypothesize that mothers’ awareness of state laws related to indoor tanning by youth may reduce their permissiveness for daughters to use tanning facilities.

A total of 777 mothers (and their daughters) from 34 states that do not ban indoor tanning participated in the trial. Less than 20% of mothers (and fewer daughters) accurately reported whether their state has an age restriction or parental permission requirement for minors to indoor tan. More than 50% of the mothers supported banning indoor tanning by minors. However, the mothers reported varying levels of advocacy that they would be willing to demonstrate related to enacting state-level policy to restrict indoor tanning by minors (e.g., sign a petition, contact an elected representative, testify to a state legislative committee). 

The authors conclude that: “Efforts to inform mothers and daughters may be needed to create a norm against indoor tanning, to prevent moms from permitting indoor tanning by daughters, and to build support for further restrictions on minors’ access.”

This research is funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (CA192652; Dr. David Buller, Klein Buendel, and Dr. Sherry Pagoto, University of Connecticut, Multiple Principal Investigators). Co-authors include Dr. Katie Baker, Dr. Joel Hillhouse, and Jessica Bibeau from East Tennessee State University; Dr. Kim Henry from Colorado State University; and Dr. Barbara Walkosz and Julia Berteletti from Klein Buendel.

Sun Safety Curriculum for Grades K-5 is Now Free for Schools

Sun Safety Curriculum for Grades K-5 is Now Free for Schools

Sunny Days Healthy Ways, an evidence-based sun safety curriculum that provides sun protection education for grades K-5, is now available free online by its authors at Klein Buendel, Inc. Schools can use the curriculum to fulfill the school-based goals of the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer.

“I was inspired to remove any barriers to schools having access to the curriculum by previous Surgeon General Dr. Boris Lushniak’s impassioned presentation at the 4th Annual Conference on UV and Skin Cancer Prevention,” explained Mary Buller, President of Klein Buendel.

Sunny Days Healthy Ways provides an average of 15 lessons per grade, that teachers can tailor to their timeframe and needs. Prepared lesson plans, student activity sheets, storybooks, learning objectives, and common core standards minimize prep time and make teaching students about sun safety easy. Project-based learning and technology connections make it fun.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. and is increasing at an alarming rate. Even though skin cancer occurs mainly in adults, much of the damage was likely done during childhood. Long periods of unprotected sun exposure and severe sunburning as a child can lead to skin cancer and eye damage later in life. Good health habits started in childhood are more likely to last a lifetime.

Sunny Days Healthy Ways was first created and evaluated with research grants from the National Cancer Institute (CA62968 & CA23074) and the Arizona Disease Control Research Commission (9403). To access the free curriculum, visit the Sunny Days Healthy Ways website at https://www.sdhw.info/.

Skin Cancer Awareness and the Great Outdoors

Skin Cancer Awareness and the Great Outdoors

In July, Klein Buendel (KB) teamed up with the Colorado Skin Cancer Task Force (CSCTF) and Rocky Mountain Sunscreen (RMS) for the first time in the summer to raise awareness about UV radiation and skin cancer prevention at the new-to-Denver Outdoor Retailer Summer Market at the Colorado Convention Center.

For nearly a decade, KB and the CSCTF partnered with RMS at the winter SnowSports Industries America Snow Show every January to show outdoor retailers that practicing sun safety is just as important in the winter months as in the summer months. Now we can access hundreds of outdoor retailers in the summer months in Denver, too, with the arrival of the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market.

Skin cancer prevention is particularly relevant for members of the outdoor retailer industry because they work and promote recreation in high UV environments, like mountains, deserts, lakes, and oceans. In addition to providing sun safety and skin cancer awareness information, the booth offered a unique opportunity for attendees to have a UV-damage photograph taken of their face with the Reveal Imager. The Reveal Imager by Canfield has the ability to capture damage caused by the sun’s UV rays that are invisible to the naked eye. Participants reported that seeing this type of photograph of themselves is a helpful visual reminder to practice sun safety all year long to reduce their risk of additional sun damage.

Per their website, “the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market is North America’s largest tradeshow in the outdoor industry drawing attendees from around the world. Summer Market is all about face-to-face—it’s where products are shown, orders are written, new accounts are found, connections are made and brands are launched. This show is about buying, sourcing, strategic meetings, trend, education and networking with decision makers, influencers, stakeholders, key buyers and athletes that influence the outdoor market.”

Over the course of the multi-day event, KB staff took dozens of photographs with the UV camera. Other members of the CSCTF (including Colorado dermatologists and dermatology interns) answered questions, distributed sun safety materials, and performed skin examinations. This event is part of the annual outreach and education efforts of the CSCTF. KB has been an active member of the CSCTF for over 10 years.

Skin Cancer Prevention Messages on Facebook

Skin Cancer Prevention Messages on Facebook

Social media use among American adults has grown over the years – from just 5-in-10 in 2011 to seven-in-ten in 2018 – and reasons for using social media range from connecting with others to accessing news content to sharing information.1 With skin cancer still the most common among all cancers,2 it seems logical to use social media to promote and spread skin cancer prevention awareness. But is it effective?

In a recently published article in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, KB’s Dr. Barbara Walkosz and Rachel Eye, along with other collaborators, aimed to review and classify skin cancer prevention messages from non-profit organizations on Facebook to determine which types garnered high engagement, such as likes, comments, and shares. Messages were identified using the following keywords: “skin cancer prevention,” “melanoma,” “melanoma prevention,” and “sun safety.” From May 2014 to May 2015, Facebook pages of 24 skin cancer groups’ and their 824 Facebook messages were coded for the following content: message format (narrative or didactic), motivation (skin cancer risk or appearance), persuasive appeal (social norm, fear, humor, altruism, celebrity story), behavioral target (sunscreen, hats, shade, avoid sunburn, indoor or outdoor tanning, skin exams), imagery, image content, and hyperlink. Engagement and frequency of message types were also determined.

Authors found that the majority of messages were didactic and focused on skin cancer occurrence and type but note that these approaches are not always effective in producing behavior change. Furthermore, the top three behavioral targets addressed were skin exams, indoor and outdoor tanning, and sunscreen use. Messages that were more didactic, appearance-based, myth-busting, used celebrity endorsements, and targeted self-exams received the most engagement. Messages without images received a higher rate of likes, shares and comments compared with messages that included images.

Limitations of the study include the inability to determine if those following the pages studied are representative of populations at risk for skin cancer and the potential of missed messages based on the keywords used for inclusion criteria. Authors state that collaborations between health institutes and researchers could identify characteristics of messages that are both effective for behavior change and produce high engagement rates in order to have the greatest impact on skin cancer prevention.

References

  1. Social media fact sheet. Pew Research Center Web site. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/. Published February 5, 2018. Accessed April 24, 2018.
  2. Key statistics for melanoma skin cancer. American Cancer Society Web site. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/melanoma-skin-cancer/about/key-statistics.html. Updated January 4, 2018. Accessed April 24, 2018.
Effects of the Sun Safe Workplaces Program

Effects of the Sun Safe Workplaces Program

Occupational skin cancer prevention is an international priority. People who work outdoors are routinely exposed to high levels of ultraviolet radiation (UV), the primary risk factor for skin cancer. Dr. Barbara Walkosz from Klein Buendel presented findings from the Sun Safe Workplaces project and a follow-up assessment at the 68th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association in Prague, Czech Republic, May 24-28, 2018.

Sun Safe Workplaces (SSW) was a communication theory-based workplace sun safety program for public organizations that employ people who work outdoors. Examples of outdoor work include road and bridge work, parks and recreation facilitation, sanitation and water works, and public safety. The original SSW project promoted the adoption of workplace sun safety policies in the public organizations and provided training in personal sun protection for outdoor workers in a randomized controlled trial. The follow-up study assessed the impact of SSW on employee sun safety behavior.

Sixty-one of the 98 public employers from the original study participated. Managers and line supervisors reported program implementation. A total of 1,784 outdoor workers (913 from the intervention group and 871 from the control group) completed surveys on personal sun protection practices.

In summary, employees’ sun protection improved statistically significantly in the intervention group receiving the SSW program. SSW’s effect on employee sun protection was mediated by the number of workplace actions to implement elements of sun safety policy including sun protection messages and equipment in the workplace and employee reports of training in sun safety.

This research was funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (RO1CA187191; Dr. David Buller, Principal Investigator). In addition to Dr. Walkosz and Dr. Buller from Klein Buendel (KB), collaborators/co-authors included Mary Buller from KB; Dr. Allan Wallis from the University of Colorado Denver; Dr. Richard Meenan from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research; Dr. Michael Scott from Mikonics, Inc.; Dr. Peter Andersen from San Diego State University; and Dr. Gary Cutter from the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

Cost of Occupational Sun Protection Policy Intervention Delivery

Cost of Occupational Sun Protection Policy Intervention Delivery

Dr. Richard Meenan presented cost analysis data from the Sun Safe Workplaces project at the 4th International Conference on UV and Skin Cancer Prevention in Toronto, Canada May 1-4, 2018. His presentation focused on an estimated cost of delivering a sun protection policy intervention to public-sector employers in Colorado. The cost of occupational skin cancer prevention interventions poses challenges for organizations delivering interventions and employers that implement sun protection for outdoor workers.

The Sun Safe Workplaces (SSW) intervention promoted occupational sun protection policies and education to 98 public-sector employers in a randomized controlled trial. Intervention components included in-person meetings and follow-up contact by email and telephone with senior managers, in-person trainings for employees, and printed educational materials sent to the workplace. Using a micro-costing approach, costs to the intervening organization were determined from the project accounting system supplemented by external sources. Costs to employers were estimated from responses to semi-structured interviews in a two-year follow-up with 34 senior managers on implementing sun protection education and other actions to support employee sun safety and were presented at the conference. Employers incurred highest average costs for implementing onsite sun safety training, primarily the estimated value of employee time in attendance.

Costs to employers are likely a barrier to acting on skin cancer prevention. In the SSW trial, employers appeared to incur more costs than the intervening organization. Strategies to control employer costs should be considered when designing occupational skin cancer prevention interventions. Costs will be used to determine: (1) the incremental cost of the SSW intervention (ignoring development and research costs) and (2) the incremental cost of the employers’ skin cancer prevention education and policy adoption actions induced by the SSW intervention.

This research was funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (RO1CA187191; Dr. David Buller, Klein Buendel, Principal Investigator). Collaborators include Dr. Barbara Walkosz, Rachel Eye, and Mary Buller from Klein Buendel; Dr. Richard Meenan from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon; and Dr. Allan Wallis from the University of Colorado Denver.

Klein Buendel was one of the North American hosts of the UV 2018 conference. The conference was organized by a joint planning committee of skin cancer prevention experts in Canada and the United States from Ryerson University in Toronto, the Canadian Dermatology Association in Ottawa, and Klein Buendel in Denver.

Sun Safety Ink!

Sun Safety Ink!

Dr. Robert Dellavalle presented Sun Safety Ink! at the 4th International Conference on UV and Skin Cancer Prevention in Toronto, Canada May 1-4, 2018. His presentation focused on formative research conducted by Klein Buendel and the University of Colorado Denver to develop a skin cancer prevention training program for tattoo artists.

Twenty-five percent (25%) of American adults have a tattoo, and higher rates are found among younger generations. Sun safety promotions to young adults are significant because risk factors are elevated for this population. Tattoo artists may be ideal sources for delivering effective sun safety interventions to this hard-to-reach, at-risk population because sun safety is recommended for tattoo aftercare and the long-term.

Semi-structured interviews with tattoo artists and focus groups with tattooed individuals gathered input on the design of the Sun Safety Ink! (SSI!) online training program for tattoo artists. Tattoo artists had limited knowledge of skin cancer but reported that they alert clients if they observe skin abnormalities. All artists provided written and verbal aftercare instructions that included sun safety recommendations, but only for tattoos. Artists were interested in the SSI! training program. They suggested the use of video training scenarios to help artists learn to communicate with clients and that information about skin cancer (such as statistics and causes), conversation starters, and examples of sun safety practices be included.

Focus group participants had low levels of sun protection. Participants reported most artists do not discuss health topics but were positive about receiving skin cancer prevention messages, especially during lengthy tattoo sessions. Participants noted that sun safety advice from an artist might make a difference in protecting all of their skin not just tattoos. They recommended that artist deliver sun protection information multiple times while the client is getting the tattoo, during follow-up visits, by text message, in aftercare instructions with pictures or skin cancer facts, and via social media.

Both artists and clients were supportive of SSI! Artists are viewed as a trusted source of information and have the potential to impact clients’ sun safety practices. Suggestions regarding training content and format will be incorporated into an online training for tattoo artists.

This research was funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (R01CA206569; Dr. Barbara Walkosz and Dr. Robert Dellavalle, Multiple Principal Investigators). Collaborators include Dr. Barbara Walkosz, Dr. David Buller, Mary Buller, Rachel Eye, and Savanna Olivas from Klein Buendel; and Dr. Dellavalle from the University of Colorado, Denver.

Klein Buendel was one of the North American hosts of the UV 2018 conference. The conference was organized by a joint planning committee of skin cancer prevention experts in Canada and the United States from Ryerson University in Toronto, the Canadian Dermatology Association in Ottawa, and Klein Buendel in Denver.

Costs of Sun Safety Policy Implementation in California Elementary Schools

Costs of Sun Safety Policy Implementation in California Elementary Schools

Dr. Richard Meenan is presenting cost analysis data from the Sun Safe Schools project at the 4th International Conference on UV and Skin Cancer Prevention in Toronto, Canada May 1-4, 2018. His presentation focuses on the estimated costs of delivering a sun protection policy intervention to public elementary schools in California.

Implementation of sun safety practices is an important element of efforts by elementary schools to prevent skin cancer among their students. However, cost can significantly impede such implementation. The Sun Safe Schools (SSS) trial provided technical assistance to 118 California public elementary schools interested in implementing sun safety practices consistent with district policy. Intervention components were primarily an initial intervention meeting with school administrators, and follow-up email and telephone communications. Schools chose from 47 possible practices to implement.

Using a micro-costing approach, intervention delivery costs to the intervening organization were determined from the project tracking database supplemented by external sources. Labor and non-labor practice costs incurred by schools were estimated using a project template, which three authors reviewed for reasonableness. The 47 practice codes were collapsed into ten categories, such as outdoor shade and parent outreach. The 58 intervention schools implemented a total of 128 practices. Thirty-seven schools implemented at least one practice. Most common practices were parent outreach, education of students, and teacher training. Data on the average cost of participating in the school-based sun safety intervention will be presented at the conference.

In summary, costs to schools may hinder action on implementation, so cost control strategies should be considered when designing school-based sun safety interventions. Next steps are to determine: (1) the incremental implementation cost of the SSS intervention and (2) the incremental cost of the schools’ sun safety education and policy adoption actions induced by SSS.

This research was supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (R01HD074416; Dr. Kim Reynolds, Claremont Graduate University, Principal Investigator). Collaborators include Kim Massie from Claremont Graduate University in California; Dr. David Buller, Julia Berteletti, and Mary Buller from Klein Buendel; Dr. Richard Meenan from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon; and Dr. Jeff Ashley from Sun Safety for Kids in Los Angeles, California.

Klein Buendel is one of the North American hosts of the UV 2018 conference. The conference was organized by a joint planning committee of skin cancer prevention experts in Canada and the United States from Ryerson University in Toronto, the Canadian Dermatology Association in Ottawa, and Klein Buendel in Denver.