'You and your skin': a short-duration presentation of skin cancer prevention for teenagers

The effectiveness of a short-duration presentation of the educational material 'You and Your Skin' was tested on 184 adolescents (age 13-15) at the Year 7 and 8 levels. A non-equivalent control group design was used with pre-testing and post-testing 3 months after the intervention. The intervention increased the students' knowledge of known risks factors for skin cancers. However, the students' attitudes to abstaining from sunbathing and tanning was not significantly affected. The effect of the intervention on the stage of change was primarily a progression from the precontemplation stage to the contemplation stage regarding avoiding the mid-day sun. We conclude that a brief presentation of the educational kit 'You and Your Skin' can be used to increase knowledge, but there is a need for a more extensive intervention effort to affect students' readiness to change their behavior and attitude towards sunbathing and tanning. Therefore, it is important to emphasize the necessity of using the educational kit as a multi-lesson programme with its several group exercises.