Text 2 Prevent Skin Cancer?

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study suggests that daily text message reminders may increase sunscreen use and reduce the rate of skin cancer.

In a study, adults who received daily text messages with a local weather report and a sunscreen reminder were about 26 percent more likely to apply their daily dose of sunscreen than those who did not receive the text message.

"Despite continuing educational efforts, a wide gap persists between patients' understanding of the harmful effects of excessive sun exposure and their regular application of sunscreens," the authors were quoted as saying. "Text message reminders are low-cost, scalable and effective method of bridging this knowledge-action gap."
 
Researchers divided 70 participants into two groups. One group received daily text-reminders for six weeks, while the other group did not. Electronic adherence monitors were attached to participant's sunscreen tubes to measure each time the cap was taken off the bottle of sunscreen. Participants reminded through text messages applied sunscreen 56.1 percent of the days studied. The control group applied their protection 30 percent of the time.

One of three cancer cases is identified as skin cancer.  More than 1 million new cases are diagnosed every year in the U.S.

SOURCE: Archives of Dermatology, JAMA, November 2009

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