EDUCATION

University of Miami-Miller Sun Protection Fun (SPF) Childrens Education Outreach Project

Dermatology Interest Group - Sun Protection Fun (SPF) Medical Student Education Outreach Program brings sun protection awareness to local students in South Florida. This ongoing community service initiative provides age-appropriate education to elementary school age students on the harmful effects of the sun (such as sunburns, wrinkles, and skin cancers) while informing them of safe and effective ways to protect themselves (shade, clothing and sunscreen) from excessive ultraviolet light exposure (sun and tanning beds).

One of the main objectives of this program is to significantly impact these young students’ lives; therefore, by addressing awareness, attitudes and behaviors, they learn to practice safe, protective measures on a daily basis.  Ultimately, we aim to prevent sun damage that could potentially lead to melanomas and other skin cancers in the future. The SPF program encourages these students to actively seek protection from UV exposure for the rest of their lives and to share this important message with their family and friends, thereby indirectly impacting a much larger population.

To convey UMMSM-DIG’s message in a fun and effective manner, the SPF program begins with medical students presenting an interactive multimedia PowerPoint presentation, which assesses the students’ current knowledge and behaviors regarding sun protection and damage. The remainder of the presentation focuses on the harmful effects of UV exposure and simple ways to protect oneself on a daily basis. To help the students remember this important information, DIG offers various mnemonics and key phrases of sun protection. The presentation consists of many different pictures and animations (for visual learners), stories and anecdotes (for aural learners), symbolic UV-bracelet making and ‘dress up’ activities (for the kinesthetic learners) and educational hand-outs and brochures for the student to take home and show his/her family and friends (for read-write learners).

The SPF program consistently engages the elementary school audience to gauge how much they already know while clarifying common misconceptions they have concerning sun damage and skin protection. The presentation is very straightforward as it educates on the topics such as SPF values, UVA vs. UVB light, the tanning cascade, and peak sun exposure times and illustrates the harmful effects of the sun and tanning beds through various pictures of sunburns, freckles, moles, wrinkles, and skin cancer. To prevent these damaging consequences from occurring, pictures to portray ways to protect oneself are emphasized through sunscreens, hats, sunglasses, sun protective clothing, and shade. DIG also incorporates humor and excitement whenever possible to show the students that sun protection can be as fun as it is important.

After the educational presentation, there is an interactive discussion session with the students. Two audience volunteers are chosen to come to the front of the class to be dressed up for a “fun day at the beach”.  Suggestions are taken from the other elementary students to see what they learned during the presentation and to once again reinforce active methods of sun protection. The volunteers are then “dressed” up with a full-brimmed hat, sunglasses, sunscreen of at least SPF 30, a long-sleeved white T-shirt, an umbrella, etc. while the medical students explain the importance of each item.  At the end of this session, the students watch a web-based 5-minute video of similar age children creating a science experiment to determine the best sun protection among sunscreens (with various SPF values and a control cream with no SPF).1

Sharon E. Jacob, M.D.

The final activity in the SPF program is an arts and crafts activity completed in small groups of 7-8 elementary students and one medical student. The purpose of this portion of the session is to engage the youngsters in a more personal and comfortable setting, while answering any remaining questions. The medical students help the elementary students make bracelets using UV light-sensitive beads (made possible by a John K. Robinson Grant sponsored by the University of Miami Alumni Association).  These special beads remain clear indoors and in the shade, but become bright and colorful once in the presence of UV light. Importantly, the UV sensitive beads still have a distinct (although fainter) color change even on cloudy days, which reminds the students that UV light penetrates clouds to cause skin damage as well. These bracelets serve as a reminder of the importance of safe sun habits and the need to actively seek sun protective measures. 

"Feedback from the elementary school administrators has been overwhelming positive since the onset of the program in the Fall of 2006", said Dr. Sharon E. Jacob, Advisor of the UM Dermatology interest group.  "And, the children have continued to exhibit sun safety practices (including wearing their UV light sensitive bracelets) five months following the educational presentation!"

View the Sun Protection Fun (SPF) Presentation.

References:
1 Video available at http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/sunscreen.html.  Accessed June 25, 2007.
2 Nijhawan RI, Patel SS, Stechschulte S, Jacob SE. Sun protection fun – an educational outreach initiative by a dermatology interest group. J Am Acad Dermatol. In press.