New Approaches to Skin Cancer Prevention: Can Encouraging Skin Checking Increase Engagement in Sun Protection Behaviours?

Abstract

Background: Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the world and incidence rates are increasing globally. Efforts to encourage individuals to engage in sun protection behaviors that minimize their risk of skin cancer are therefore urgently needed. In Australia, the context of the current study, UV radiation levels are particularly intense and public health campaigns have been successful in encouraging behaviors such as using sunscreen and wearing a hat. However, recent years have seen a plateau in engagement in such behaviors and new approaches are required to facilitate further gains. Encouraging people to check their skin for signs of skin cancer may be one such approach as it has the potential to increase the salience of skin cancer and the need to protect oneself from UV radiation. Aim: To assess the relationship between skin checking and sun protection behaviors to inform skin cancer prevention campaigns. Methods: Computer-assisted telephone interviewing was used to survey nearly 700 adults. Frequency of engagement in various sun protection behaviors (wearing a hat, wearing protective clothing, using sunscreen) was assessed. Respondents were also asked whether they had checked their skin for skin cancer and how confident they were in their ability to spot the signs of skin cancer. Results: Path analysis revealed greater confidence in one's ability to detect the signs of skin cancer to be associated with skin checking. In turn, skin checking was found to be associated with more frequent engagement in all of the assessed sun protection behaviors. Conclusions: Public health campaigns that increase people's confidence in their ability to detect the signs of skin cancer have the potential to encourage skin cancer reduction behaviors in the form of both skin checking and sun protection and perhaps shift the plateau in engagement of sun protection behaviors observed in recent years.