Ineffectiveness of sun awareness posters in dermatology clinics.
BACKGROUND
Although sun awareness posters have been used in doctors' offices and clinics for decades to promote sun protective behaviour, there is no evidence of their usefulness.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether sun awareness posters lead to inquiry of skin cancer and sun protection measures.


METHODS
Patients considered at risk for skin cancer seen at a dermatology clinic were randomly asked to complete a questionnaire designed to assess the effectiveness of three different sun awareness posters placed in patient rooms. The posters were selected on the basis of their catchy slogan and eye-appealing images, and included those featuring parental interest, sex appeal and informative advice.


RESULTS
Only half of the patients noticed the posters (50.6%). The poster with sex appeal garnered the most attention (67.8%), followed by the informative poster (49.2%) and the parental interest poster (35.8%) (P < 0.001). Although patients who noticed the sun awareness poster inquired about cutaneous cancers and sun protection practices twice as often as those who did not notice the poster, only one-tenth of such inquiries were attributed to the poster ( approximately 5% of the target population). As reported in the questionnaire, the posters themselves were less effective than the advice of physicians in influencing patient attitudes towards sun protection measures.


CONCLUSIONS
Organizations that produce and disseminate posters should consider beyond focus groups when they design their posters and should consider field testing their products to ensure that they are reaching the targeted audience and are having the expected beneficial effect, otherwise their posters are simply decorative.
Jung
G W
GW
Division of Dermatology and Cutaneous Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Senthilselvan
A
A
Salopek
T G
TG
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D001364:Awareness; D003142:Communication; D003880:Dermatology; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D057175:Posters as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D013473:Sunscreening Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects*; D055815:Young Adult
D013473:Sunscreening Agents