Preventing Skin Cancer: Education and Policy Approaches in Child Care Centers

Educational and policy approaches in child care centers aim to decrease sunburns, increase sun-protective knowledge, attitudes, and intentions, and affect behaviors among adults and children. Examples of these interventions include brochures for parents and sessions to develop skin protection plans for child care centers.

Summary of Task Force Recommendations & Findings

The Community Preventive Services Task Force finds insufficient evidence to determine whether educational and policy approaches in child care centers:

• Reduce children’s adverse health effects
• Change children’s behavior related to sun exposure
• Change caregivers’ behavior related to sun exposure
• Change policies and practices in child care centers
• Change children’s or caregivers’ knowledge or attitudes related to sun exposure and sun protection

The finding of insufficient evidence to determine effectiveness was based on (1) limitations in the design and execution of interventions evaluated, (2) small numbers of qualifying reports, (3) variability in interventions evaluated, (4) very short follow-up times, and (5) little substantial or statistically significant improvement in outcomes other than knowledge and attitudes.

Task Force Finding

About the Interventions:

Interventions reviewed within this category included:

• Curricula that included interactive classroom and take-home activities for children and staff
• Brochures for parents
• Sessions to develop skin protection plans for child care centers

All interventions reviewed focused on some combination of:

• Increasing the use of sunscreen*
• Scheduling activities to avoid peak sun hours
• Increasing availability of shade and encouraging children to play in shady areas
• Encouraging children to wear sun-protective clothing

* Sunscreen use by itself was not considered a recommendation outcome.

Results from the Systematic Review

Thirteen studies qualified for the review.

• Studies were inconsistent in the interventions examined and outcomes measured.
• Results for change in knowledge (9 studies), beliefs (7 studies), and intentions (7 studies) were inconsistent.

These results are based on a systematic review of all available studies led by scientists from CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control with input from a team.

Find a Research-tested Intervention Program (RTIP) about the use of education and policy approaches in child care settings (What is an RTIP?).

These results are based on a systematic review of all available studies led by scientists from CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control with input from a team of specialists in systematic review methods and experts in research, practice and policy related to preventing skin cancer.

Supporting Materials

• Analytic framework [PDF - 68KB]
• Research gaps
• Included studies

Publications

CDC. Preventing skin cancer. Findings of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services on reducing exposure to ultraviolet light. MMWR 2003;52(RR-15):1–12.

Saraiya M, Glanz K, Briss PA, et al. Interventions to prevent skin cancer by reducing exposure to ultraviolet radiation: a systematic review. [PDF - 788KB] Am J Prev Med 2004;27(5):422-66.

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.

Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Cancer. [PDF - 402KB] In : Zaza S, Briss PA, Harris KW, eds. The Guide to Community Preventive Services: What Works to Promote Health? Atlanta (GA): Oxford University Press;2005:143-87.

More Community Guide publications about Cancer Prevention and Control

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Sample Citation

The content of publications of the Guide to Community Preventive Services is in the public domain. Citation as to source, however, is appreciated. Sample citation: Guide to Community Preventive Services.Preventing skin cancer: education and policy approaches in child care centers. www.thecommunityguide.org/cancer/skin/education-policy/childcarecenters.html. Last updated: MM/DD/YYYY.

Review completed: February 2001