Communicating about youth's sun exposure risk to soccer coaches and parents: A pilot study in Georgia

Efforts to increase the sun-protective behaviors of children were extended to outdoor recreational sports and youth soccer settings in this study. The pretest results of a pilot survey of coaches (n = 12), parents (n = 50), a nd youths (n = 61) on eight soccer teams in south Georgia were used to guid e the development of a health education program for coaches. In the pilot p rogram, half the coaches were trained to be involved in soccer-playing yout hs' sun protection by acting as positive role models and promoting sun prot ection to youths and their parents. The pilot demonstrated coaches' willing ness to participate in sun protection promotion to youth: Youths indicated that coaches and parents were more likely to tell youths to wear sunscreen after the training than before, and coaches perceived getting youths to wea r sunscreen to be less difficult than before.