Educating preschoolers about sun safety.

OBJECTIVES

This feasibility study examined whether a sun safety curriculum designed for and administered to preschoolers affects their cognition (knowledge, comprehension, application) regarding sun safety.

METHODS

Twelve classes of 4- to 5-year-olds were recruited from local preschools and randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group received an investigator-developed sun safety curriculum; the control group did not. Children in both groups were tested at the beginning of the study about their cognition related to sun safety. They then received posttests 2 and 7 weeks following the pretest.

RESULTS

The curriculum had a significant effect on the knowledge (P = .01) and comprehension (P = .006) components of cognition. The application component of cognition was not significantly changed by the curriculum.

CONCLUSIONS

A structured curriculum was found to be an efficacious means of enhancing knowledge and comprehension of sun safety in preschool children. At the preoperational developmental stage, however, children may not be able to apply such knowledge and comprehension.