TEACHING-CHILDREN ABOUT SKIN-CANCER - THE DRAW-AND-WRITE TECHNIQUE ASAN EVALUATION TOOL

Childhood exposure to sunlight is a risk factor for melanoma, To formu late a meaningful program to educate children about the ill effects of the sun, their extant knowledge base must be determined, We have used the ''draw-and-write'' technique to assess children's perceptions abo ut the sun, suntans, and skin cancer, A total of 693 school children a ged 4 to 13 years were asked to draw pictures and label them in respon se to a series of carefully worded questions, Awareness of the need to apply sunscreen increased from 44% in children aged 4 to 6 years to 9 5% in children aged 9 to 10 years. Ten percent of children aged 4 to 6 years already perceived a suntan as attractive, While almost all chil dren were aware of the negative immediate effects of sun exposure, nam ely sunburn, just 30% of American children aged 11 to 13 were aware th at sun exposure is a risk for skin cancer, No differences between boys and girls were seen, The ''draw-and-write'' technique allows assessme nt of the attitudes and perceptions of children regarding the sun and skin cancer, It also provides valuable information on which to base he alth education and evaluate its cost-effectiveness.