None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This was the first study to investigate empirically the impact of the online melanoma awareness video, ‘Dear 16-year-old me’, on sun protection intentions and related cognitive processes in young adults aged 17-30. We examined changes in perceived threat, skin cancer fear, and intention to participate in a variety of sun protection behaviors after exposure to ‘Dear 16-year-old me’, the personal risk for melanoma questionnaire (PRMQ), or an informational control condition. It was anticipated that: (1) participants exposed to ‘Dear 16-year-old me’ or the PRMQ would demonstrate significant improvements in perceived threat, skin cancer fear, and sun protection intentions post-intervention, (2) participants in the control condition would not demonstrate any significant changes in perceived threat, skin cancer fear, or sun protection intentions post-intervention, (3) all significant effects would be maintained two weeks later at follow-up. A mixed within-between subjects design was used. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three experimental conditions: ‘Dear 16-year-old me’, PRMQ, control) and completed an online questionnaire at three time points (baseline, post-intervention, two-week follow-up).Data were obtained from 222 participants (158 female) at baseline and 187 at follow-up. There was a significant interaction between group and time for intended sun protection behaviors and perceived threat, with participants exposed to ‘Dear-16-year-old me’ reporting the greatest improvements. Heightened perceptions of threat among participants exposed to ‘Dear 16-year-old me’ were maintained at follow-up, although increased levels of skin cancer fear were not. Sun protection intentions increased across all groups over time, but this increase was significantly greater in the intervention groups than the control group. The results suggest that ‘Dear 16-year-old me’ is a promising intervention for reducing skin cancer risk among young adults. The study findings support the assertion that providing people with narrative evidence from other “real” people can be an effective strategy to increase perceptions of personal health risk and encourage health protective behavior.
Interventions
This study investigated the impact of the melanoma awareness video ‘Dear 16-year-old me’, a self-assessment of perceived melanoma risk, and a control condition.
'Dear 16-year-old me" is a five minute melanoma awareness video developed by the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund in 2011, which is available online. The video addresses the importance of protecting and checking one’s skin via personal testimonies from real life melanoma survivors and their families, who share with their younger selves the
This study investigated the impact of the melanoma awareness video ‘Dear 16-year-old me’, a self-assessment of perceived melanoma risk, and a control condition. 'Dear 16-year-old me" is a five minute melanoma awareness video developed by the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund in 2011, which is available online. The video addresses the importance of protecting and checking one’s skin via personal testimonies from real life melanoma survivors and their families, who share with their younger selves the advice that could have prevented them or a loved one from developing melanoma. The risk self-assessment used in this study was one component of a self-administered melanoma questionnaire that assesses personal risk, level of concern, protective behaviour, and knowledge (Gillespie et al., 2011). For the purpose of this study, only the risk component of the questionnaire was used (the Personal Risk for Melanoma Questionnaire; PRMQ). This 7-item self-assessment collects information about skin type, hair colour, and other personal factors that can contribute to an individual’s likelihood of developing melanoma. Each response attracts a score, and the sum of these is a numerical indication of melanoma risk, ranging on a scale from -2 to 22.
Sponsors
University of Adelaide
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
16 Years to 30 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Young adults residing in Australia and fluent in English.
Exclusion criteria
Current skin cancer diagnosis.
Outcome results
None listed