Acne Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Acne, including details on skin problems, diet, treatments, puberty.

Skin sun-acne tutorial evaluation among middle- and high-school students in central New Jersey.

Irwin B, Mauriello D, Hemminger L, Pappert A, Kimball AB

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

BACKGROUND: Because of the perception that a tan is healthy and attractive, it has been difficult to educate adolescents about sun protection. OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine whether the skin sun-acne tutorial, an hour-long, hands-on educational intervention that combined acne education with sun-protection education, increased knowledge of skin care, sun protection, and acne. METHODS: In all, 1214 middle- and high-school students were taught, tested, and surveyed. Outcomes were determined based on comparing performance on a pretest and posttest. RESULTS: All students, regardless of sex, ethnicity, age, or race, improved significantly from their pretest to posttest scores (P < .001). LIMITATIONS: This study only used one health educator and was restricted to public schools in central New Jersey. CONCLUSIONS: The skin sun-acne tutorial significantly improved knowledge of skin care including knowledge of sun protection and acne among students of different grades, sexes, ages, ethnicities, and races.

Published 23 February 2007 in J Am Acad Dermatol, 56(3): 407-12.
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