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"Do you know your skin?": an intervention to increase sunscreen use, skin self-examination and talking about skin cancer

Promoting sunscreen use and skin self-examination to improve early detection and prevent skin cancer: quasi-experimental trial of an adolescent psycho-educational intervention

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN11141528
Enrollment
500
Registered
2018-03-02
Start date
2017-04-01
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2020-02-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Skin cancer Cancer Melanoma and other malignant neoplasms of skin

Interventions

The feasibility study uses a quasi-experimental design, with schools allocated by the research team to an intervention group or control group, to find out if the intervention worked as intended and to

Sponsors

University of Stirling
Lead Sponsor
University of the Highlands and Islands
Collaborator

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Male and female secondary school attenders aged 15-16 years

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Consent not given by parent or guardian

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
All outcomes measured using self-completed survey on pen and paper, administered as a group activity within the allocated schools at 2 weeks before the intervention (baseline), and 4 weeks after the intervention has been delivered: 1. Sunscreen use intention, measured using one item: ‘Do you intend to use a high factor sunscreen if you are going out in the sun?’ A five-point Likert scale was used to gauge response from 1 (definitely will not) to 5 (definitely will) 2. Sunscreen use planning, measured using five items: ‘I have made a detailed plan on… i) What sunscreen I will use; ii) When I will use it; iii) Where I will get it from; iv) How I will remember to carry it’; and, iv) What to do it I am tempted not to use it.’ A five-point Likert scale was used to gauge response from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree) 3. Skin self-examination (SSE) behaviour, measured using one item: ‘In the past month, have you examined your skin for signs of possible skin cancer?’ Responses were yes, no or don’t know. SSE intention was measured using one item: ‘Do you intend to examine your skin for signs of possible skin cancer on a regular basis.’ A five-point Likert scale was used to gauge response from 1 (definitely will not) to 5 (definitely will) 4. SSE planning, measured using four items: ‘I have made a detailed plan regarding… 4.1. When to examine my skin for signs of possible skin cancer 4.2. Where to examine my skin for signs of possible skin cancer 4.3. How to examine my skin for signs of possible skin cancer’ 4.4. ‘I have made a plan for dealing with things that could stop me from examining my skin for signs of possible skin cancer’ A five-point Likert scale was used to gauge response from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree) 5. Talking about skin cancer, measured using one item: ‘Have you sp

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
1. Intervention adherence and acceptability. Intervention adherence was defined in two ways: proportion of eligible adolescents on a school register receiving the presentation, and number of participating adolescents completing the home-based assignment. The number of adolescents in intervention schools who received the presentation was objectively measured using school attendance records. The number of adolescents doing the home-based assignment was self-reported at follow-up. 2. Adolescents’ opinions about relevance, content, format and delivery methods, explored in focus groups conducted in intervention group schools. Focus groups (n=3; 1 intervention group school was unavailable due to exam revision timetabling) to elicit adolescents’ views on the intervention’s relevance, content, format and delivery methods were conducted approximately 8 weeks after the intervention. Focus groups were audio-recorded and took place during school time, in a classroom, at a time and place selected by the teacher and lasted approximately 50 minutes. Confidentiality was explained and informed consent was obtained in writing. Added 17/05/2018: 3. In Phase II (2018), an objective measure of melanin will be collected as indicator of sunburn pre- and post-intervention (i.e. before and after the school summer holidays): melanin level measured using a Mexameter

Countries

United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactGill Hubbard

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Mar 6, 2026