Skin sun-acne tutorial evaluation among middle- and high-school students in central New Jersey.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Because of the perception that a tan is healthy and attractive, it has been difficult to educate adolescents about sun protection.

OBJECTIVE:

We sought to examine whether the skin sun-acne tutorial, an hour-long, hands-on educational intervention that combined acne education with sun-protection education, increased knowledge of skin care, sun protection, and acne.

METHODS:

In all, 1214 middle- and high-school students were taught, tested, and surveyed. Outcomes were determined based on comparing performance on a pretest and posttest.

RESULTS:

All students, regardless of sex, ethnicity, age, or race, improved significantly from their pretest to posttest scores (P < .001).

LIMITATIONS:

This study only used one health educator and was restricted to public schools in central New Jersey.

CONCLUSIONS:

The skin sun-acne tutorial significantly improved knowledge of skin care including knowledge of sun protection and acne among students of different grades, sexes, ages, ethnicities, and races.

• Authors: Blair Irwin, Dana Mauriello, Laura Hemminger, Amy Pappert, Alexandra B Kimball
• Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (J Am Acad Dermatol) Vol. 56 Issue 3 Pg. 407-12 (Mar 2007) ISSN: 1097-6787 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 17239985 (Publication Type: Evaluation Study, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Topics

• Acne Vulgaris (prevention & control)
• Adolescent
• Child
• Female
• Health Education (standards)
• Humans
• Male
• New Jersey
• Radiation Protection (methods)
• School Health Services (standards)
• Skin Care
• Students
• Sunlight (adverse effects)