The high costs of cheap tanning: pricing and promotional practices of indoor tanning facilities in six cities in the United States.

Few studies have investigated pricing and promotional practices used by the indoor tanning industry, despite their potential to promote indoor UV tanning-a well-established risk factor for melanoma skin cancer. Posing as potential customers, we telephoned 94 indoor tanning businesses in six United States (U.S.

Randomized trial of a web-based survivor intervention on melanoma prevention behaviors of first-degree relatives.

Objectives: Melanoma can be prevented through reducing sun exposure and detected early by increasing examination of skin for lesions. First-degree relatives of melanoma cases have higher risk than the general population and, therefore, could be targets of behavioral interventions through families. We tested the effects of a family-based web delivered intervention to melanoma families on the melanoma risk reduction behaviors of first-degree relatives of melanoma cases.

Indoor tanning promotions on social media in six US cities #UVTanning #tanning.

There is no research investigating indoor tanning advertising on social media. We assessed the use of social media to promote indoor tanning. We subscribed to social media platforms in six US cities and content-analyzed promotional messages received.

Using research data to impact consumer protection legislation: lessons learned from CITY100 dissemination efforts.

The Correlates of Indoor Tanning in Youth (CITY100) project evaluated individual, built-environmental, and policy correlates of indoor tanning by adolescents in the 100 most populous US cities. After CITY100's completion, the research team obtained supplemental dissemination funding to strategically share data with stakeholders. The primary CITY100 dissemination message was to encourage state-level banning of indoor tanning among youth.

Dog ownership and physical activity: a review of the evidence.

Background: Dog walking is a strategy for increasing population levels of physical activity (PA). Numerous cross-sectional studies of the relationship between dog ownership and PA have been conducted. The purpose was to review studies comparing PA of dog owners (DO) to nondog owners (NDO), summarize the prevalence of dog walking, and provide recommendations for research.

Use of conventional care and complementary/alternative medicine among US adults with arthritis.

Objective: Managing arthritis and co-morbid conditions is of public health importance. It is therefore critical to have a comprehensive understanding of healthcare utilization among US adults with arthritis. Thus, the present study identified characteristics associated with using both complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and conventional healthcare.

Adolescents' use of indoor tanning: a large-scale evaluation of psychosocial, environmental, and policy-level correlates.

Objectives: We evaluated psychosocial, built-environmental, and policy-related correlates of adolescents' indoor tanning use.

Methods: We developed 5 discrete data sets in the 100 most populous US cities, based on interviews of 6125 adolescents (aged 14-17 years) and their parents, analysis of state indoor tanning laws, interviews with enforcement experts, computed density of tanning facilities, and evaluations of these 3399 facilities' practices regarding access by youths. After univariate analyses, we constructed multilevel models with generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs).

Impact of individual-, environmental-, and policy-level factors on health care utilization among US farmworkers.

Objectives: We examined individual-, environmental-, and policy-level correlates of US farmworker health care utilization, guided by the behavioral model for vulnerable populations and the ecological model.

Methods: The 2006 and 2007 administrations of the National Agricultural Workers Survey (n = 2884) provided the primary data. Geographic information systems, the 2005 Uniform Data System, and rurality and border proximity indices provided environmental variables.

Dog walking: its association with physical activity guideline adherence and its correlates.

Objective: We examined the prevalence and correlates of dog walking among dog owners, and whether dog walking is associated with meeting the American College of Sports Medicine/American Heart Association physical activity guidelines.

Methods: In March 2008, we mailed a survey to dog-owning clients from two San Diego County veterinary clinics. Useable data were obtained from 984 respondents, and 75 of these completed retest surveys.

Perceived skin cancer risk and sunscreen use among African American adults.

We examined perceived skin cancer risk and its relationship to sunscreen use among a large (N = 1932) random sample of African American adults for the first time. Skin cancer risk perceptions were low (Mean = 16.11 on a 1-100 scale).

Measuring skin cancer risk in African Americans: is the Fitzpatrick Skin Type Classification Scale culturally sensitive?

Objective: Fitzpatrick's Skin Type Classification Scale often is used to assess sun sensitivity and skin cancer risk. Because the scale was developed with Whites, its utility and validity with Blacks may be limited by its reliance on the European-cultural terms suntan and sunburn. We tested the hypothesis that most Blacks would be unable to classify their skin into the four Fitzpatrick skin types.

Sun-protection behaviors among African Americans.

Background: Data suggest that the prevalence of sun-protection behaviors is low (44%) among African Americans; the samples in such studies, however, tended to be small or nonrepresentative.

Purpose: This article aims to examine the prevalence and correlates of sun-protection behaviors among a large, random, statewide sample of African-American adults living in California to ascertain behavioral patterns and highlight directions for targeted interventions.

Methods: From September 2006 through May 2008, an anonymous health survey collected data on sunscreen, sunglasses, and wide-brim hat use among a random sample of 2187 African-American adults, and assessed demographic, regional, skin type, and other potential correlates of these behaviors.

Youth access to artificial UV radiation exposure: practices of 3647 US indoor tanning facilities.

Objective: To assess indoor tanning facility practices in a sample of facilities in 116 cities representing all 50 states.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: United States.

Healthy Steps: a systematic review of a preventive practice-based model of pediatric care.

The preventive role of anticipatory guidance in pediatric practice has gained increasing importance over the last two decades, resulting in the development of competing models of practice-based care. Our goal was to systematically evaluate and summarize the literature pertaining to the Healthy Steps Program for Young Children, a widely cited and utilized preventive model of care and anticipatory guidance, Medline and the bibliographies of review articles for relevant studies were searched using the keywords: Healthy Steps, preventive care, pediatric practice and others. Other sources included references of retrieved publications, review articles, and books; government documents; and Internet sources.

Density of indoor tanning facilities in 116 large U.S. cities.

Background: U.S. adolescents and young adults are using indoor tanning at high rates, even though it has been linked to both melanoma and squamous cell cancer.

Use of sunglasses in public outdoor recreation settings in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Purpose: Approximately, 20.5 million Americans (17.2%) older than 40 years have a cataract in at least one eye, and rates are expected to rise to over 30 million by 2020.

Season of interview and self-report of summer sun protection behaviors.

Self-report of past behavior may be affected by recall biases that result in over- or under-reporting. This study explored whether the season an interview was conducted affected individuals' self-reported frequency of past summer sun protection behaviors, including the use of sunscreen, hats, long sleeves, and shade. We examined two existing datasets--National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) with sample sizes of 31,428 and 21,122, respectively.

Enforcement of state indoor tanning laws in the United States.

Introduction: Twenty-eight US states have passed legislation for indoor tanning facilities. To our knowledge, whether these state laws are actually enforced has not been evaluated previously in all 28 states. Therefore, we interviewed key informants in these states to assess enforcement practices.

Correlates of physical activity guideline compliance for adolescents in 100 U.S. Cities.

Purpose: This study assessed the rates and correlates of adolescents' compliance with national guidelines for physical activity.

Methods: A cross-sectional phone survey of adolescents and their parents was conducted in the 100 largest cities in the United States in 2005. Adolescents ages 14-17 years (n = 6125) were asked how many days during the previous week and during a typical week they were physically active for at least 60 minutes.

Measuring nonsolar tanning behavior: indoor and sunless tanning.

Objective: To develop items to measure indoor tanning and sunless tanning that can be used to monitor trends in population surveys or to assess changes in behavior in intervention studies.

Design: A group of experts on indoor tanning convened in December 2005, as part of a national workshop to review the state of the evidence, define measurement issues, and develop items for ever tanned indoors, lifetime frequency, and past-year frequency for both indoor tanning and sunless tanning. Each item was subsequently assessed via in-person interviews for clarity, specificity, recall, and appropriateness of wording.

Correlates of tanning facility prevalence within San Diego County, California census tracts.

Adolescents frequenting indoor tanning facilities may have an increased risk of skin cancer. The high level of indoor tanning by this age group may be due, in part, to the large number of tanning facilities in US cities. This study examined how facilities are distributed throughout one large county.

Sun sensitivity in 5 US ethnoracial groups.

Some sun safety activities have included only non-Hispanic white individuals, even though individuals in other ethnoracial groups may be at risk for skin cancer. The objectives of this study were to investigate distributions of self-reported Fitzpatrick skin type within 5 ethnoracial groups and substantiate each group's self-report with an objective measure. The study used a cross-sectional design.

The influence of parents and peers on adolescent indoor tanning behavior: findings from a multi-city sample.

Background: Indoor tanning is common among adolescents.

Objective: Our purpose was to examine the influence of parents and peers on adolescent indoor tanning.

Methods: Telephone interviews were conducted with 5274 teen-parent pairs in the 100 largest US cities.

Measuring the stringency of states' indoor tanning regulations: instrument development and outcomes.

Objectives: We sought to describe the development of an instrument to quantify the stringency of state indoor tanning legislation in the United States, and the instrument's psychometric properties. The instrument was then used to rate the stringency of state laws.

Methods: A 35-item instrument was developed.