Online Advertising for Cancer Prevention: Google Ads and Tanning Beds
Cidre Serrano, Wilmarie ; Chren, Mary-Margaret ; Resneck, Jack S. Jr. ; Aji, Nepheli N. ; Pagoto, Sherry L. ; Linos, Eleni
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Keywords
indoor tanning
tanning beds
dissemination
skin cancer prevention
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Dermatology
Health Information Technology
Neoplasms
Preventive Medicine
Public Health Education and Promotion
Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases
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Abstract
Google receives more than 3.5 billion Internet searches daily, and the advertisements on their results pages may provide a unique opportunity to transmit targeted public health information to a large audience. Skin cancer is more common than all other cancers combined, and indoor tanning is a preventable risk factor that accounts for more than 450 000 new malignant neoplasms each year. Tanning bed use remains common, with 1 in 5 adolescents and more than half of college students exposed. Awareness of the dangers of tanning beds is one of the factors that can lead to behavior change. The goals of this study were to examine the volume of tanning bed–related searches on Google and pilot the use of Google’s advertising service for dissemination of skin cancer prevention messages to users entering searches related to tanning beds.
Source
JAMA Dermatol. 2016 Jan 1;152(1):101-2. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2015.3998. Link to article on publisher's site