scholarly journals What Can Twitter Tell Us about Skin Cancer Communication and Prevention on Social Media?

Dermatology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 236 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina Vasconcelos Silva ◽  
Dilki Jayasinghe ◽  
Monika Janda
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Skin Cancer Prevention ◽  
Cancer Communication ◽  
Prevention Interventions ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods ◽  
Protective Behaviours

Background: Skin cancer places a substantial burden on the health system in Australia. The modernisation of skin cancer prevention interventions by using social media may enhance their contemporary reach and relevance, especially among the youth. This study aimed to analyse Twitter posts in Australia to establish a baseline of skin cancer and sun-related communication trends. Methods: Tweets posted over the summer of 2018/2019 relating to relevant keywords and hashtags such as “slipslopslap” and “sunscreen” were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The number of tweets, related communication patterns, and possible factors for sudden changes in tweet volume were studied. Results: Results showed that Australians are using Twitter to communicate about their sun-related and skin cancer experiences and to share advice and information on this matter. Overall, Australians use Twitter more frequently to talk about sunscreen (number of tweets between December 2018 and February 2019 = 5,842) and/or skin cancer (n = 3,936), but not so often to communicate about other sun-protective behaviours (n = 1,972) or skin cancer prevention campaigns (n = 108). The number of tweets is greatly affected by the increase in temperature. Celebrities, non-health-related organisations with a high number of followers, and individuals sharing their own skin cancer experiences achieve a substantial number of likes and retweets and thus influence on Twitter regarding skin cancer-related communication. Conclusions: The results allow deeper understanding of important determinants for effective social media use for health promotion and public health messaging in the future. Linking tweets with temperature, sharing by celebrities or non-health-related organisations and individuals with a high following can all contribute to greater spread of skin cancer and sun-related messages.

scholarly journals The Reach of the “Don’t Fry Day” Twitter Campaign: Content Analysis

10.2196/14137 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. e14137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Nguyen ◽  
Lauren Gilbert ◽  
Lianne Priede ◽  
Carolyn Heckman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Skin Cancer Prevention ◽  
National Council ◽  
Original Material ◽  
Self Interest

Background Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, disproportionately affecting young women. Since many young adults use Twitter, it may be an effective channel to communicate skin cancer prevention information. Objective The study aimed to assess the reach of the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention (NCSCP)’s 2018 Don’t Fry Day Twitter campaign, categorize the types of individuals or tweeters who engaged in the campaign, and identify themes of the tweets. Methods Descriptive statistics were used, and a content analysis of Twitter activity during the 2018 Don’t Fry Day campaign was conducted. The NCSCP tweeted about Don’t Fry Day and skin cancer prevention for 14 days in May 2018. Twitter contributors were categorized into groups. The number of impressions (potential views) and retweets were recorded. Content analysis was used to describe the text of the tweets. Results A total of 1881 Twitter accounts, largely health professionals, used the Don’t Fry Day hashtag, generating over 45 million impressions. These accounts were grouped into nine categories (eg, news or media and public figures). The qualitative content analysis revealed informative, minimally informative, and self-interest campaign promotion themes. Informative tweets involved individuals and organizations who would mention and give further context and information about the #DontFryDay campaign. Subthemes of the informative theme were sun safety, contextual, and epidemiologic information. Minimally informative tweets used the hashtag (#DontFryDay) and other types of hashtags but did not give any further context or original material in the tweets. Self-interest campaign promotion involved businesses, firms, and medical practices that would utilize and promote the campaign to boost their own ventures. Conclusions These analyses demonstrate the large potential reach of social media public health campaigns. However, limitations of such campaigns were also identified, for example, the relatively homogeneous groups actively engaged in the campaign. This study contributes to the understanding of the types of accounts and messages engaged in social media campaigns utilizing a hashtag, providing insight into the messages and participants that are effective and those that are not to achieve campaign goals. Further research on the potential impact of social media on health behaviors and outcomes is necessary to ensure wide-reaching implications.

scholarly journals Teens, Tweets, and Tanning Beds: Rethinking the Use of Social Media for Skin Cancer Prevention

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. S86-S94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley E. Falzone ◽  
Claire D. Brindis ◽  
Mary-Margaret Chren ◽  
Alexandra Junn ◽  
Sherry Pagoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Skin Cancer Prevention ◽  
Tanning Beds ◽  
Use Of Social Media

A Process Evaluation of the Skin Cancer Prevention Act (Tanning Beds): A Survey of Ontario Public Health Units

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-683
Author(s):  
Jessica Reimann ◽  
Jennifer E. McWhirter ◽  
Andrew Papadopoulos ◽  
Kim Bergeron ◽  
Susan Flynn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Skin Cancer Prevention ◽  
Tanning Beds ◽  
Prevention Act

scholarly journals The Reach of the “Don’t Fry Day” Twitter Campaign: Content Analysis (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Nguyen ◽  
Lauren Gilbert ◽  
Lianne Priede ◽  
Carolyn Heckman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Skin Cancer Prevention ◽  
National Council ◽  
Original Material ◽  
Self Interest

BACKGROUND Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, disproportionately affecting young women. Since many young adults use Twitter, it may be an effective channel to communicate skin cancer prevention information. OBJECTIVE The study aimed to assess the reach of the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention (NCSCP)’s 2018 <italic>Don’t Fry Day</italic> Twitter campaign, categorize the types of individuals or tweeters who engaged in the campaign, and identify themes of the tweets. METHODS Descriptive statistics were used, and a content analysis of Twitter activity during the 2018 <italic>Don’t Fry Day</italic> campaign was conducted. The NCSCP tweeted about <italic>Don’t Fry Day</italic> and skin cancer prevention for 14 days in May 2018. Twitter contributors were categorized into groups. The number of impressions (potential views) and retweets were recorded. Content analysis was used to describe the text of the tweets. RESULTS A total of 1881 Twitter accounts, largely health professionals, used the <italic>Don’t Fry Day</italic> hashtag, generating over 45 million impressions. These accounts were grouped into nine categories (eg, news or media and public figures). The qualitative content analysis revealed informative, minimally informative, and self-interest campaign promotion themes. Informative tweets involved individuals and organizations who would mention and give further context and information about the #DontFryDay campaign. Subthemes of the informative theme were sun safety, contextual, and epidemiologic information. Minimally informative tweets used the hashtag (#DontFryDay) and other types of hashtags but did not give any further context or original material in the tweets. Self-interest campaign promotion involved businesses, firms, and medical practices that would utilize and promote the campaign to boost their own ventures. CONCLUSIONS These analyses demonstrate the large potential reach of social media public health campaigns. However, limitations of such campaigns were also identified, for example, the relatively homogeneous groups actively engaged in the campaign. This study contributes to the understanding of the types of accounts and messages engaged in social media campaigns utilizing a hashtag, providing insight into the messages and participants that are effective and those that are not to achieve campaign goals. Further research on the potential impact of social media on health behaviors and outcomes is necessary to ensure wide-reaching implications.

scholarly journals New Approaches to Skin Cancer Prevention: Can Encouraging Skin Checking Increase Engagement in Sun Protection Behaviours?

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement 2) ◽  
pp. 5s-5s
Author(s):  
M. Jongenelis ◽  
M. Strickland ◽  
C. Minto ◽  
T. Slevin ◽  
S. Pettigrew
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Uv Radiation ◽  
Sun Protection ◽  
Skin Cancer Prevention ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Health Campaigns ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Public Health Campaigns

Background: Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the world and incidence rates are increasing globally. Efforts to encourage individuals to engage in sun protection behaviors that minimize their risk of skin cancer are therefore urgently needed. In Australia, the context of the current study, UV radiation levels are particularly intense and public health campaigns have been successful in encouraging behaviors such as using sunscreen and wearing a hat. However, recent years have seen a plateau in engagement in such behaviors and new approaches are required to facilitate further gains. Encouraging people to check their skin for signs of skin cancer may be one such approach as it has the potential to increase the salience of skin cancer and the need to protect oneself from UV radiation. Aim: To assess the relationship between skin checking and sun protection behaviors to inform skin cancer prevention campaigns. Methods: Computer-assisted telephone interviewing was used to survey nearly 700 adults. Frequency of engagement in various sun protection behaviors (wearing a hat, wearing protective clothing, using sunscreen) was assessed. Respondents were also asked whether they had checked their skin for skin cancer and how confident they were in their ability to spot the signs of skin cancer. Results: Path analysis revealed greater confidence in one's ability to detect the signs of skin cancer to be associated with skin checking. In turn, skin checking was found to be associated with more frequent engagement in all of the assessed sun protection behaviors. Conclusions: Public health campaigns that increase people's confidence in their ability to detect the signs of skin cancer have the potential to encourage skin cancer reduction behaviors in the form of both skin checking and sun protection and perhaps shift the plateau in engagement of sun protection behaviors observed in recent years.

scholarly journals Associations Between Emotions, Social Media Use, and Sun Exposure Among Young Women: Ecological Momentary Assessment Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Fitts Willoughby ◽  
Jessica Gall Myrick ◽  
Stephanie Gibbons ◽  
Clark Kogan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Skin Cancer Prevention ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

BACKGROUND Research has pointed to a connection between social media use, emotions, and tanning behaviors. However, less is known about the role specific emotions may play in influencing social media use and how emotions and social media use may each be associated with outdoor tanning. OBJECTIVE This paper aims to examine the connection between emotions, social media use, and outdoor tanning behaviors among young women, a group particularly important for skin cancer prevention efforts. METHODS We used ecological momentary assessment to collect data from 197 women aged 18 to 25 years 3 times a day for 7 days in July 2018. We collected data from women in 2 states. RESULTS We found that boredom was associated with increased time spent on social media and that increased time spent on social media was associated with increased time spent outdoors without sun protection. CONCLUSIONS Our results highlight that social media may be a particularly important channel for skin cancer prevention efforts targeting young women, as more social media use was associated with increased time spent outdoors with skin exposed. Researchers should consider the role of emotions in motivating social media use and subsequent tanning behaviors. Additionally, as boredom was associated with social media use, intervention developers would benefit from developing digital and social media interventions that entertain as well as educate.

scholarly journals Correlates of Sun Safety Practices in a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Sample of Adolescents: Implications for Skin Cancer Prevention Interventions

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. e288-e290
Author(s):  
Darren Mays ◽  
Kirsten B. Hawkins ◽  
Vida L. Tyc ◽  
Michael B. Atkins ◽  
Kenneth P. Tercyak
Keyword(s):  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Ethnically Diverse ◽  
Skin Cancer Prevention ◽  
Sun Safety ◽  
Safety Practices ◽  
Prevention Interventions

scholarly journals Impact of Social Media on Skin Cancer Prevention

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 5002
Author(s):  
Henriette De La Garza ◽  
Mayra B. C. Maymone ◽  
Neelam A. Vashi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Skin Cancer Prevention ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Right ◽  
Media Interventions

Despite the increasing prevalence of social media usage in health care contexts, its impact on skin cancer prevention and awareness has not been largely investigated. We conducted a review of literature on this topic with the objective of summarizing and analyzing the role of social media in skin cancer and sun damage awareness and to identify the uses, benefits, and limitations of different social media platforms on skin cancer prevention. In today’s technological society, it is critical to understand and study the best form of communication. Specific platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok vary in originators of material, target demographics, messaging strategies, and reliability of information with regards to skin cancer, sun, and indoor tanning damage. Our results demonstrate that social media interventions have shown promise in skin cancer prevention and continue to escalate by the day. Dermatologists should keep pace with the latest dermatological content on social media and examine its evolution to target the right audience with the proper messages. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness and true impact of social media on meaningful and lasting behavior change for skin cancer prevention.

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