Search Content

Matching Items (3)

Skin Cancer Awareness Campaign

Description

The Skin Cancer Awareness Campaign at Arizona State University is a honors creative project which was implemented to educate young people on the importance of preventative skin care and the risk behaviors that lead to skin cancer, especially tanning bed use and the lack of sun screen use. The primary goals of this campaign included understanding why students engage in these risk behaviors, raising awareness about the consequences of these behaviors, and donating to the cause of skin cancer treatment and education.

ContributorsHaynes, Morgan Myha (Author) / Parmentier, Mary Jane (Thesis director) / Bowman, Diana (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2016-12

Protection Against Basal Cell Carcinoma: Limitations in Sunscreen, Further Research, and Recommendations

Description

Skin cancer diagnoses and deaths continue to increase every year. With basal cell carcinoma (BCC) being the most common type of skin cancer diagnoses, establishing protective measurements against it are important. Surprisingly, sunscreen may not be as effective at protecting against basal cell carcinoma as it is for another non-melanoma type of skin cancer: squamous cell carcinoma. This paper aims to identify some differences between the two non-melanoma type cancers to find probable reasons sunscreen may be more effective at protecting against one over the other, as well as to find new solutions to protect against basal cell carcinoma. The results conclude that basal cell carcinoma does have UV-induced pathogenesis, in which case sunscreen is protective; however, it also revealed the need for ingredient studies and more sunscreen efficacy studies to determine other BCC pathogenesis pathways. Lastly, aided by dermatologist interviews, current interventions were established in order to provide greater protection against skin cancer. These include reforming the way commercials portray sunscreen to better educate the public about proper application and re-application, genetic testing for high-risk BCC markers, and an emphasis on sun education to the mothers of children.

ContributorsBozzano, Bianca (Author) / Washo-Krupps, Delon (Thesis director) / Hendrickson, Kirstin (Committee member) / Hicks, Andrew (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2021-05

Advancing Methods to Monitor and Assess Personal Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure

Description

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the most well-known cause of skin cancer, and skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. People are exposed to UV rays when they engage in outdoor activities, particularly exercise, which is an important health behavior. Thus, researchers and the general public have shown increasing interest in measuring UV exposures during outdoor physical activity using wearable sensors. However, minimal research exists at the intersection of UV sensors, personal exposure, adaptive behavior due to exposures, and risk of skin damage. Three studies are presented in this dissertation: (1) a state-of-the-art review that synthesizes the current academic and grey literature surrounding personal UV sensing technologies; (2) the first study to investigate the effects of specific physical activity types, skin type, and solar angle on personal exposure in different outdoor environmental contexts; and (3) a study that develops recommendations for future UV-sensing wearables based on follow-up interviews with participants from the second study, who used a wrist-worn UV sensor while exercising outdoors. The first study provides recommendations for 13 commercially available sensors that are most suitable for various types of research or personal use. The review findings will help guide researchers in future studies assessing UV exposure with wearables during physical activity. The second study outlines the development of predictive models for individual-level UV exposure, which are also provided. These models recommend the inclusion of sky view factor, solar angle, activity type, urban environment type, and the directions traveled during physical activity. Finally, based on user feedback, the third study recommends that future UV-sensing wearables should be multi-functional watches where users can toggle between showing their UV exposure results in cumulative and countdown formats, which is intuitive and aesthetically pleasing to users.

ContributorsHenning, Alyssa Leigh (Author) / Vanos, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Johnston, Erik (Thesis advisor) / Frow, Emma (Committee member) / Michael, Katina (Committee member) / Downs, Nathan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2021