Slip! slop! slap! and SunSmart, 1980-2000: Skin cancer control and 20 years of population-based campaigning

The Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria has been running sun protection program s for more than 20 years: Slip! Slop! Slap! from 1980 to 1988 and SunSmart from 1988 to the present. The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation has pro vided funding for the SunSmart program for the past 13 years. These program s have played an important role in changing the whole society's approach to the sun and have resulted in marked reductions in sun exposure. This artic le describes the social, political, economic, and organizational context wi thin which these programs developed. Then 10 areas are discussed that illus trate a critical aspect of the development and implementation of this succe ssful systemwide health promotion program. These areas focus on key aspects of the context within which the program operates and on issues that derive from the experience of implementing program strategies. In summary, the su ccess of the two programs is described as having been built on two key foun dations: the vital integration of research and evaluation, on one hand, and a strong basis of consistency and continuity, on the other.