The goal of this project was to understand how parents, journalists, and community leaders thought about sun protection and skin cancer. The Viswanath Lab communication facilities were used to develop and test different communication messages that could increase the appeal of sun protection messages in local media.

We worked under the assumption that a community-based mass media communication campaign to promote awareness about skin cancer and sun protection could potentially increase awareness, change behaviors, and increase support for sun protection policies in schools and other community institutions.

The goal of this project was to understand how parents, journalists, and community leaders thought about sun protection and skin cancer. This was achieved through in-depth interviews with journalists and community leaders, and through focus groups with parents. The Viswanath Lab communication facilities were then used to develop and test different communication messages that could increase the appeal of sun protection messages in local media.