QUT Improving Health Outcomes for People co-leader Prof Monika Janda recently attended the 16th World Congress on Cancers of the Skin in Vienna, Austria.
The world congress of cancers of the skin holds interdisciplinary meetings for clinicians and scientists working in the challenging fields of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer.
Prof Janda’s presented her talk on skin cancer prevention in Australia. Prof Janda discussed primary prevention of skin cancer as a cost-effective method to prevent the high morbidity and mortality rates of skin cancer in Australia. At least 2 in 3 Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70, and more than 2000 Australians will die from skin cancer each year.
Prof Janda noted a trend towards using social media and text messaging campaigns to reach a younger demographic that is still getting sunburnt on a regular basis. In a Queensland study, young adults 18-24 years are seven times more likely to be sunburnt than those 35-44 years, and five times more likely to report sunburn than older people. The Healthy Texts trial was a recent ihop-led study that aimed to assess the impact of SMS messages on improving sun protection and early detection behaviours in young to mid-aged adults.
Please see a link to Prof Janda’s presentation here.
Conference venue pictured
