A Quasi-experimental Study of a Skin Cancer Intervention to Increase Knowledge and Change Behaviors Among Irish Nursing and Agricultural Students

Skin cancer rates are increasing in Ireland, making skin cancer prevention a serious public healthcare issue. We replicated a quasi-experimental study assessing the effectiveness of an educational skin cancer intervention. This intervention was effective as an educational adjunct in teaching American nursing students. The current study, conducted at a college in Ireland, was intended to evaluate its effectiveness among Irish nursing (n = 115) and agricultural (n = 60) students. Students were assigned to one control group and two intervention groups: lecture only, and lecture and skin analyzer machine. It was hypothesized that both the lecture-only and lecture and skin analyzer machine groups would have higher posttest scores than the control group in three domains: "knowledge" (skin cancer knowledge), "behavior" (adoption of sun protective behaviors), and "role" (willingness and self-efficacy to assume the role of teaching others about skin cancer). Our findings supported the study's hypotheses. Among both nursing and agricultural students, both intervention groups had higher scores than the control groups in posttest measures of behavior, knowledge, and role. This study revealed that both the lecture-only and lecture and skin analyzer machine interventions are effective teaching methodologies to personalize the risk of sun damage.