Preventing Skin Cancer: Education and Policy Approaches for Healthcare Settings and Providers

Task Force Finding*

Individuals in the United States make an average of 1.7 visits to a primary care provider annually, making healthcare settings a unique opportunity for providing preventive services to the general population. This review considered activities for providers as well as for healthcare systems.

The Task Force found insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of interventions in healthcare settings or for healthcare providers in reducing UV exposure or increasing sun-protective behaviors. Too few articles of sufficient design and execution quality evaluated the effectiveness of these interventions in changing recommendation outcomes.

*From the following publication:

Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Recommendations to prevent skin cancer by reducing exposure to ultraviolet radiation. [PDF - 70KB] Am J Prev Med 2004;27(5):467-70.

Review completed: July 2002