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

Education and policy interventions designed for healthcare settings or providers aim to improve the knowledge, attitudes, and sun-protective behaviors of their clients or patients. They also aim to improve the counseling behaviors of healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses, physician assistants, medical students, and pharmacists. Single component or multicomponent interventions are applied in a range of healthcare settings (e.g., pharmacy, drugstore, clinic, physician’s office, medical school) and may include activities such as provider education sessions, internet-based education, videos, and role-modeling.

Summary of Task Force Recommendations & Findings

The Community Preventive Services Task Force finds insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of educational and policy approaches in healthcare 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.

Task Force Finding

Results from the Systematic Review

Eleven studies qualified for the review.

• Only two assessed reducing UV exposure or increasing sun-protective behavior.
• Results were inconsistent.

Find a Research-tested Intervention Program (RTIP) about the use of education and policy approaches in healthcare settings and among providers (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

---



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 for healthcare settings and providers. www.thecommunityguide.org/cancer/skin/education-policy/healthcaresettings.html. Last updated: MM/DD/YYYY.

Review completed: July 2002