title: Community-wide Interventions to Prevent Skin Cancer: Two Community Guide Systematic Reviews.
abstract: Skin cancer is a preventable and commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S. Excessive ultraviolet radiation exposure is a known cause of skin cancer. This article presents updated results of two types of interventions evaluated in a previously published Community Guide systematic review: multicomponent community-wide interventions and mass media interventions when used alone.
  
  
  
  Studies assessing multicomponent community-wide and mass media interventions to prevent skin cancer by reducing ultraviolet radiation exposure were evaluated using Community Guide systematic review methods. Relevant studies published between 1966 and 2013 were included and analyzed for this review.
  
  
  
  Seven studies evaluating the effectiveness of multicomponent community-wide interventions showed a median increase in sunscreen use of 10.8 (interquartile interval=7.3, 23.2) percentage points, a small decrease in ultraviolet radiation exposure, a decrease in indoor tanning device use of 4.0 (95% CI=2.5, 5.5) percentage points, and mixed results for other protective behaviors. Four studies evaluating the effectiveness of mass media interventions found that they generally led to improved ultraviolet protection behaviors among children and adults.
  
  
  
  The available evidence showed that multicomponent community-wide interventions are effective in reducing the deleterious effects of ultraviolet radiation exposure by increasing sunscreen use. There was, however, insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of mass media interventions alone in reducing ultraviolet radiation exposure and increasing ultraviolet protection behaviors, indicating a continuing need for more research in this field to improve assessment of effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Community Guide Branch, Division of Public Health Information Dissemination, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address: psandhu@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Paramjit K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Sandhu
authors.affiliation: Community Guide Branch, Division of Public Health Information Dissemination, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Randy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Elder
authors.affiliation: Community Guide Branch, Division of Public Health Information Dissemination, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saraiya
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Dawn M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Holman
authors.affiliation: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perna
authors.affiliation: American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Klein Buendel, Lakewood, Colorado.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buller
authors.affiliation: Cancer Council Victoria, Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sinclair
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social & Behavioral Research Unit, Department of Prevention & Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reeder
authors.affiliation: University of Tasmania, Menzies Research Institute, Tasmania, Australia.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Makin
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social & Behavioral Research Unit, Department of Prevention & Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Bronwen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McNoe
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and School of Nursing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Glanz
mesh_terms: D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*