Optimization of a personalized skin cancer risk intervention for at-risk young adults

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PROJECT SUMMARY Melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers are common among young adults. Young adults put themselves at increased risk for skin cancers due to their tanning habits and inconsistent use of recommended sun protection methods. Existing interventions for young adults have relied on a one-size-fits-all approach primarily using appearance-focused appeals examining short-term outcomes, and have not examined potential moderators of intervention effects. We designed a skin cancer prevention intervention for college students that incorporates different types of personalized skin cancer risk information (ultraviolet photo showing underlying skin damage, MC1R testing indicating genetic risk for skin cancer, action planning) to increase receptivity to personalized risk information and to facilitate decreased tanning and increased use of sun protection. Our study is guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model; as such we posit that intervention components will improve outcomes by increasing central processing of highly personally relevant risk and behavioral planning information. In our preliminary studies of these intervention components, we observed decreases in tanning behaviors and increases in sun protection pre- to post-intervention. We propose to apply a Multiphase Optimization Strategy to identify which of the proposed components or their combinations optimally prevent sunburn, and secondarily, which elements discourage tanning and increase use of sun protection in college students over longer term intervals (12+ months). Through a full factorial experiment, we will examine the effects of three personalized risk components: 1) UV photo; 2) MC1R genetic testing results; 3) action planning. We will explore socio-demographic and behavioral moderators of the intervention effects in order to inform the development of future deeply-tailored, optimized adaptive interventions. This project addresses the critical need for efficacious skin cancer preventive interventions for young adults in the college setting. The project will also lead to new scientific understanding of moderators of the intervention effects, which will lead to more deeply tailored interventions that better meet the needs of all young adults.