Skin Cancer Screening and Education at Beaches

Skin Cancer Screening and Education Program at Beaches

This study was an evaluation of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Blum Family Resource Center Van's existing skin cancer screening and education program. This program occurred over 2 summers. This study will fill a critical gap in the investigators' knowledge about how best to address the high-risk behaviors that regularly occur during the summertime at beaches. The investigators randomized beaches to receive different combinations of the van program components in order to determine how services should optimally be configured to maximize impact. The investigators hypothesized that providing all three components (1-Skin cancer prevention education; 2-Biometric feedback using a Dermascan Analyzer that illustrates skin damage due to sun exposure and Ultra Violet (UV) Reflectance Photography; and 3-Dermatologist skin exam) will maximize knowledge and behavior change, relative to education alone.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Beachgoers eligible to participate in the study included:

  • those who were 18 years and older
  • Caucasian
  • able to understand, speak and read English
  • ability to give informed consent
  • had not already enrolled in the study at another participating beach