Abstract
The mass media is an influential source of skin cancer information for the public. In 2009, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified UV radiation from tanning devices as carcinogenic. Our objective was to determine if media coverage of skin cancer and recreational tanning increased in volume or changed in nature after this classification. We conducted a directed content analysis on 29 North American popular magazines (2007–2012) to investigate the overall volume of articles on skin cancer and recreational tanning and, more specifically, the presence of skin cancer risk factors, UV behaviors, and early detection information in article text (n = 410) and images (n = 714). The volume of coverage on skin cancer and recreational tanning did not increase significantly after the 2009 classification of tanning beds as carcinogenic. Key-related messages, including that UV exposure is a risk factor for skin cancer and that indoor tanning should be avoided, were not reported more frequently after the classification, but the promotion of the tanned look as attractive was conveyed more often in images afterwards (p < .01). Content promoting high-SPF sunscreen use increased after the classification (p < .01), but there were no significant positive changes in the frequency of coverage of skin cancer risk factors, other UV behaviors, or early detection information over time. The classification of indoor tanning beds as carcinogenic had no significant impact on the volume or nature of skin cancer and recreational tanning coverage in magazines.
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Notes
Analyses on the overall volume of coverage are based on 410 articles. Four of these articles could not be obtained. Thus, analyses involving article content (e.g., risk factors) are based on the 406 articles which were retrieved.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (JEMcW) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (LHG). The authors thank T. Harms at the University of Waterloo Porter Library for help with coordinating data collection.
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The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.
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McWhirter, J.E., Hoffman-Goetz, L. North American Magazine Coverage of Skin Cancer and Recreational Tanning Before and After the WHO/IARC 2009 Classification of Indoor Tanning Devices as Carcinogenic. J Canc Educ 30, 477–481 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-014-0726-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-014-0726-7