Background
melanoma, SCC, basal cell carcinoma, skin cancer, skin cancer-related psychosocial variables
MELANOMA, BCC, SKIN CANCER, OF SKIN CANCER, SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA, BASAL CELL CARCINOMAS
Incidence rates of skin cancer, including basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and melanoma, have risen among U.S. Hispanics over the past several decades [The major environmental risk factor common to melanoma, SCC, and BCC is exposure to ultraviolet radiation [One of the strongest predictors of acculturation among US Hispanics is language preference [We conducted a prevention intervention trial among Hispanics from Tampa, Florida and Ponce, Puerto Rico to determine whether receipt of skin cancer prevention information anchored in In this report, we present baseline measures of sun-related primary prevention behaviors and skin cancer-related psychosocial variables, including those measuring Protection Motivation Theory constructs. We sought to characterize the pre-intervention levels of primary prevention behavior to better understand the potential of the population to adopt preventive behaviors recommended by the intervention. Because acculturation is associated with skin cancer knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, distress, and worry, we also assessed differences in sun-related behavior and psychosocial variables across groups defined by language preference and geographic location.