Lisburn children learn about sun safety

ACTION Cancer’s recent evaluation study has found primary school children in Lisburn have a better understanding of how to be safe in the sun after taking part in the charity’s health promotion sessions.

The talks by Action Cancer are part of the charity’s Health Action programme for schools, sponsored by retailer Centra. Before these talks, half of 7-11 year olds understood that having a tan means your skin is damaged, increasing to 81% afterwards. When asked before the sessions, just over half knew that wearing sun screen in Northern Ireland was a good idea, which increased afterwards to almost 90%.

The evaluation of the Health Action sessions was conducted by using a simple questionnaire and involved more than 1,200 children at 71 schools across Northern Ireland, including a number in the Lisburn area.

Health

Action Cancer Health Promotion Officer Catherine Foreman said: “Hundreds of thousands of children have taken part in the Health Action programme over the years and our aim is to impart crucial health information that will help them avoid cancer in later life.

“We believe the evaluation proves that the sessions are successful in improving children’s understanding of healthy behaviours and in the case of the sun safety results this should lead to children adopting healthier habits in the sun, reducing their risk of skin cancer.”

Action Cancer’s Health Action programme is a unique, curriculum-focused programme which delivers health promotion sessions, centred around cancer prevention and early detection, to more than 30,000 young people every year. For nursery and younger primary school children, the sessions take the form of a puppet show, demonstrating the importance of healthy eating, exercise, being safe in the sun, and the dangers of smoking and alcohol. For 7-11 year olds, Action Cancer staff give a two week set of talks with a similar message.

The award-winning Health Action programme is supported by Centra retailers across the province, who have raised more than £700,000 to fund the project over the last nine years. Since the partnership between Action Cancer and Centra was launched in 2003, 420,000 young people have taken part in Health Action sessions.

Jennifer Morton from Centra added: “The evaluation tells us that educating young people about healthy lifestyles is vital for cancer prevention. This is why Centra retailers have supported Action Cancer’s work in schools over the long term, to have the greatest impact on the health of children, now and in the future.”

To book a Health Action session for your school, contact Action Cancer on 028 9080 3344 or visit www.actioncancer.org