ArticleBMC public health2018
Promoting sunscreen use and skin self-examination to improve early detection and prevent skin cancer: quasi-experimental trial of an adolescent psycho-educational intervention.
Article in BMC public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- A scoping review: Community-based interventions for primary prevention of skin cancer.Dermatology online journal · 2026Article
- 'It's Skin Cancer'… a Rollercoaster of a Journey for Teenagers, Young People and Their Significant Other.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Article
- A Study of Skin Cancer Knowledge, Attitudes, and Preventive Practices Among Healthcare Professionals and the General Population in Pakistan: Insights for Healthcare Interventions and Policy Development.Journal of skin cancer · 2025Article
- Characterization and Anti-Ultraviolet Radiation Activity of Proanthocyanidin-Rich Extracts fromMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Advances in Early Detection of Melanoma and the Future of At-Home Testing.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- A Review of the Impact of Sun Safety Interventions in Children.Dermatology practical & conceptual · 2023Review
- Designing a Social Marketing-Based Intervention to Promote Sun-protective Behaviors among Urban Adolescent Boys: A Study Protocol.International journal of community based nursing and midwifery · 2022Article
- Spatial clusters and temporal trends of malignant melanoma mortality in Ecuador.SAGE open medicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSkin cancer rates are increasing. Interventions to increase adolescent sunscreen use and skin self-examination (SSE) are required.
methodsQuasi-experimental design; 1 control and 4 intervention group schools in Scotland, UK. Participants were 15-16 year old students on the school register. The intervention was a theoretically-informed (Common-Sense Model and Health Action Process Approach) 50-min presentation, delivered by a skin cancer specialist nurse and young adult skin cancer survivor, to students in a classroom, supplemented by a home-based assignment. Outcome variables were sunscreen use intention, SSE intention/behaviour, planning, illness perceptions and skin cancer communication behaviour, measured 2 weeks pre- and 4 weeks post- intervention using self-completed pen and paper survey. School attendance records were used to record intervention up-take; students self-reported completion of the home-based assignment. Pearson's chi-square test, analysis of variance, and non-parametric Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test were used to measure outcomes and associations between variables. Focus groups elicited students' (n = 29) views on the intervention. Qualitative data were analysed thematically.
resultsFive of 37 invited schools participated. 639 (81%) students in intervention schools received the intervention; 33.8% completed the home-based assignment. 627 (69.6%) of students on the school register in intervention and control schools completed a questionnaire at baseline; data for 455 (72.6%) students were available at baseline and follow-up. Focus groups identified four themes - personal experiences of skin cancer, distaste for sunscreen, relevance of SSE in adolescence, and skin cancer conversations. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) changes were observed for sunscreen use, SSE, planning, and talk about skin cancer in intervention schools but not the control. Significant associations were found between sunscreen use, planning and 2 illness perceptions (identity and consequence) and between SSE, planning and 3 illness perceptions (timeline, causes, control).
conclusionsIt is feasible to promote sunscreen use and SSE in the context of an adolescent school-based psychoeducation intention. Further research is required to improve study uptake, intervention adherence and effectiveness.
trial registrationISRCTN11141528.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.