UICC World Cancer Congress 2006

Objective: Incidence rates for malignant melanoma in the UK have risen faster than for any other cancer since the 1970s. Rates continue to rise and melanoma is the second most common malignancy in 15-39 year olds. But skin cancer is largely preventable and early detection greatly aids successful treatment. SunSmart aims to increase knowledge of the causes skin cancer and positively influence attitudes to sun protection and early detection among defined target groups.

Methods: SunSmart combines dynamic public communication methods, professional support and advocacy to motivate and enable more people to adopt sun protective behaviours. SunSmart has strong emphasis on research, evaluation and evidence-based practice. The charity's communications expertise combined with its trusted profile, national infrastructure and diverse capabilities, has enabled successful execution of this multi-faceted campaign.

Results: Comparison of pre and post campaign data (Feb.03-Feb.05) shows modest improvements in sun protective knowledge and attitudes. Significantly less people agreed that 'a suntan makes me look more attractive' (49.3% to 45.7%) and that 'a suntan makes me look healthier' (65.5% to 60.5%). Future campaigns need to emphasise the role of burning in skin cancer, especially in childhood. Unexpectedly, the data show statistically significant behaviour changes over the two years in two key areas with more people 'avoiding midday sun' or ' avoiding sunbeds'. But there is still a great disparity between knowledge and action. Behaviour change in this context is a slow and complex process, and campaigns need to be sustained if they are ever to impact on incidence.