A novel educational intervention targeting melanoma risk and prevention knowledge among children with a familial risk for melanoma.
Yelena P Wu, Elizabeth Nagelhout, Lisa G Aspinwall and 9 others
PMID 29078964WHAT IT FOUND
A family education session was accepted and raised children's and parents' melanoma knowledge.
Reported sun-protection changes were mixed: sunscreen and shade-seeking increased, but long-sleeved shirt and long-pant use decreased.
Key findings
01Parents and children agreed or strongly agreed that the educational materials were useful, comprehensible, and appealing.
02Children's total melanoma knowledge scores were significantly higher at 1 month than at baseline, even though scores declined from immediately after the session.
03Parents reported significant increases in children's sunscreen use and significant decreases in children's long-sleeved shirt and long-pant use.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 22 parents and 33 children from 18 families participated, and only 18 of 73 families contacted took part. All families came from one geographic area, and the sample was described as higher socioeconomic status and Caucasian, so results may not apply to other groups. Follow-up was only 1 month, so it does not show whether behavior changes last. The study was a pilot, so it cannot prove that the education caused the changes. Some measures were not validated in this population.
Declared interests
Dr. Leachman serves on a Medical and Scientific Advisory Board for Myriad Genetics and received an honorarium. She collaborated with Myriad on an unrelated assay. The other authors declare no conflict. The article's publication types list NIH extramural and non-US government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this education prevents melanoma or reliably improves all sun-protection behaviors. It was a small pilot with only 1-month follow-up, and parents reported significant decreases in long-sleeved shirt and long-pant use.