Creating the first indoor tan-free skin smart college campus

Abstract

Given the prevalence and risk associated with indoor tanning among college students, university campuses constitute a prime target for skin cancer prevention. This report identifies the successes and challenges faced in promoting a campus-wide tan-free policy through the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention (NCSCP) Indoor Tan-Free Skin Smart Campus Initiative. Beginning in February 2016, we communicated with university faculty or staff members who have participated in skin cancer prevention via education, clinical care, or research at 20 universities regarding the steps to adopt the tan-free policy. One campus, East Tennessee State University (ETSU), successfully fulfilled all criteria and implemented the policy change to become the first US Indoor Tan-Free Skin Smart Campus. The greatest challenge faced in recruiting campuses was gaining administrative support. Reported reasons for not adopting the policy change included wanting to wait for other schools to join first and not seeing it as a top priority. Despite the importance of improving skin cancer awareness and decreasing tanning among university students, we faced several challenges in promoting campus-wide policy change. We identify a need for research on effective ways to disseminate university health policies and increased involvement of healthcare providers in policy-related work.

Keywords

• Skin cancer
• Melanoma
• Indoor tanning
• Ultraviolet radiation
• College