A skin cancer prevention photoageing intervention for secondary schools in Brazil delivered by medical students: protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Open Access
- 6 March 2018
- Vol. 8 (3), e018299
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018299
Abstract
Introduction The incidence of melanoma is increasing faster than any other major cancer both in Brazil and worldwide. The Southeast of Brazil has especially high incidences of melanoma, and early detection is low. Exposure to UV radiation represents a primary risk factor for developing melanoma. Increasing attractiveness is a major motivation for adolescents for tanning. A medical student-delivered intervention that harnesses the broad availability of mobile phones as well as adolescents’ interest in their appearance may represent a novel method to improve skin cancer prevention. Methods and analysis We developed a free mobile app (Sunface), which will be implemented in at least 30 secondary school classes, each with 21 students (at least 30 classes with 21 students for control) in February 2018 in Southeast Brazil via a novel method called mirroring. In a 45 min classroom seminar, the students’ altered three-dimensional selfies on tablets are ‘mirrored’ via a projector in front of their entire class, showing the effects of unprotected UV exposure on their future faces. External block randomisation via computer is performed on the class level with a 1:1 allocation. Sociodemographic data, as well as skin type, ancestry, UV protection behaviour and its predictors are measured via a paper–pencil questionnaire before as well as at 3 and 6 months postintervention. The primary end point is the group difference in the 30-day prevalence of daily sunscreen use at a 6-month follow-up. Secondary end points include (1) the difference in daily sunscreen use at a 3-month follow-up, (2) if a self-skin examination in accordance with the ABCDE rule was performed within the 6-month follow-up and (3) the number of tanning sessions. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was obtained from the ethics committee of the University of Itauna. Results will be disseminated at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number NCT03178240; Pre-results.Funding Information
- La Fondation La Roche Posay
This publication has 67 references indexed in Scilit:
- UV Radiation and the SkinInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2013
- Internet-Based Photoaging Within Australian Pharmacies to Promote Smoking Cessation: Randomized Controlled TrialJournal of Medical Internet Research, 2013
- Predictors of Sun Protection Behaviors and Severe Sunburn in an International Online StudyCancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 2010
- Multiple imputation for missing data in epidemiological and clinical research: potential and pitfallsBMJ, 2009
- European ancestry and cutaneous melanoma in Southern BrazilJournal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 2009
- Queimadura solar em jovens: estudo de base populacional no Sul do BrasilRevista de Saúde Pública, 2008
- SunSafe in the Middle School Years: A Community-wide Intervention to Change Early-Adolescent Sun ProtectionPEDIATRICS, 2007
- Sun Exposure and Sun Protection Habits Among High-school Adolescents in Porto Alegre, Brazil¶Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2005
- Sun Exposure and Sun Protection Habits Among High-School Adolescents in Porto Alegre, BrazilPhotochemistry and Photobiology, 2005
- Adjustments to the Mantel–Haenszel chi‐square statistic and odds ratio variance estimator when the data are clusteredStatistics in Medicine, 1987