Essay: Melanoma Incidence & Sun Protection Policies - Comparing Trends

Sun Protection Policy

Discuss about the Comparison of Melanoma Incidence and Trends.

Sun Protection Policy: Sun Protection Policies are responsibilities and duties of care in order to minimize the health risks from harmful effect of sunrays. The policies can be defined as certain policies that are implemented to promote knowledge and positive attitudes regarding skin protection among children and parents (Harrison, Garzón-Chavez and Nikles 2016). These policies are used to promote awareness to develop protection from skin cancer through improved lifestyle. The staff and children are guided by the policies to save them from the harmful ultraviolet radiation. These are designed to ensure that the children are provided with sun protected outdoor environment. Sun protection policies are effective to build independent skills for the children. The skills they will develop during the early education will help them to lead a healthy life in the future as well.

There should be certain information discussed in the Sun Smart policies that clearly state the responsibilities of the parents and the staff. They follow the instructions to successfully implement the sun protection policies. It clearly should state that the staff members of the educational institutions including the centre leader, principle, educators are responsible for the implementation of the sun protection policies. Every education centre must be engaged in the sun protection policies supported by the governmental sun smart program. The sun protection policy set by the educational site should be aligned with the government policies. Following the Education and Care Services National Regulations the representative must monitor that the policies related to sun protection are in place and active (Turner et al. 2014). For the Sun Protection Program to become effective SunSmart Services the departmental staff must follow certain strategies. The staff should monitor UV Alert on daily basis and they should take care of the children’s use of clothing, shade, sunscreen, hats and sunglasses. The staff should consider the allergic reactions related to use of certain sunscreens. The staff should consider encouraging parents to give children with their own sunscreens. The policies should also provide education related to role of vitamin D in cancer prevention and guide the parents and children regarding maintaining vitamin D level. The safety and work health of the staff should also be taken care of. Not just implementation, the policies must be reviewed at regular intervals. The local communities must be involved in the policy development and implementation in the educational site. The policies should be effective enough to remind the staff, committees, school associations and communities of their roles and responsibilities. Finally the policies and the activities must be documented through newsletters, handbooks and social media sites.

Melanoma Incidence and Trends

The citizens of Australia suffer from skin cancer in alarming number. The over exposure to the ultra violate rays has been causing such great number of skin cancer and other skin diseases. Australia is one of the countries having large number of skin cancer victims (Olsen et al. 2015). Because of the increasing exposure to the Sun the people are suffering from skin damage and skin cancer. This is even more dangerous in case of the children as during adolescence and childhood the damages get maximized. The babies and young children have sensitive skin that raises the risk of sunburn and skin damage. During the early childhood services the children get exposed to the UV radiation, therefore the Sun Protection policies can prove to be effective here. It is noticeable that most skin damages can be prevented with proper care and protection. The sun protection policies play significant role in controlling the UV exposure of the children. The inappropriate exposure to harmful sunrays increases the risk of skin cancer for the whole life for boys and girls under the age of 18 years old (Wallingford et al. 2015). Therefore the sun protection policy aims to develop their knowledge and skill at the early age. The sun protection policies are required to remind the staff and communities about their responsibilities to protect the children. Through the sun protection policies effective steps can be taken to ensure safety of the children and staff from the harmful effects of the sun.

The Diamond Creek Preschool sun protection policy was developed with the association of Victoria’s Cancer Council SunSmart Program. The policy was updated in 2016 and the ELAA policy was also incorporated in it (Diamondcreekeastpreschool.com.au 2016). The policies also provide a lot of importance to maintain the Vitamin D balance. The website keeps the parents and staff updated about the times when the protection is required. The policy keeps the children diversity in mind as they publish the Vitamin D information in 12 different languages. One big difference in its sun protection policy from others is that it equally gives importance on when the protection is not required for the children, so that the children get exposed to the natural sources of Vitamin D.

The policy is majorly focused in UV radiation protection. In the Golden Square Kindergarten sun protection policies the UV exposure is also the main issue but here need for Vitamin D is also discussed with great importance (Goldensquarekindergarten.com.au 2017). The policies clearly state that the local daily sun protection time should be measured. The policies here also guide clearly the children and the staff regarding the sun protected outdoor environment. The policies support the OHS strategies to ensure the protection from the risks. The official service website keeps the sun protection activities updated through the SunSmart Widget.

Diamond Creek Preschool Sun Protection Policy

The children will be sitting surrounding the narrator. The narrator will be narrating each chapter from the book “Magic Beach” by Alison Lester and take a pause at every image. The narrator will tell them to notice the pictures on the next page. The picture of sunny beach, waves will be shown and asked if they have ever been to any beach. After finishing the story every child will be asked about his or her beach experience. When a child talks about her experience, the narrator will ask if it was a hot day or cold. Even if they do not remember the narrator will hold the picture of the scary waves and tell them that it is not just the hungry tides that are dangerous for them, but also the sun. The staff will again open the book “Magic Beach” and point out that how in the first picture the parents are wearing hat, sunglass and sitting under the big yellow-red umbrella. The staff will make them understand because they are adults they know how to protect themselves from the invisible waves of harmful UV rays and the children should also develop self skills. In the fourth picture the children are playing for hours on the sand beach and some of them have built the shade and others are wearing hats. The staff will explain how sun is the dragon that is splitting the flames and if they don’t get protection they will be burnt. If they have any little brother or sister they must protect them from the harmful flames of the sun. The children should notice how the characters in the poem are wandering on the beach when is cloudy because it is safer than the raging sun and raging sky.

Playing should be included in the activities in order to encourage the children to follow the sun smart policy. Playing outside when the UV is under 3 would be a good option for them. They should provide with lego blocks so that they could create sun and a beach and create story with their created toys. They information and awareness through playing can prove to be really effective to deliver the messages of sun smart policy to the children.

I will make the sketch of the poster and then select few children to color the spaces. I will select bright colors like yellow and red and guide them to color it. This way they will get more involved with the poster. The children once the poster is complete I will ask for suggestions from the students regarding where should I put it. My primary plan is to engage the children with the poster as actively as possible. I will develop a story for the poster which will include the sunflower as the central character and who too much sunlight is causing it pain but at the same time it cannot live without sunlight. Therefore it is wearing a sunglass and hat. The sunflower is telling the students to go outside and play but make sure to have the protective elements like sunscreen, sunglass, hat and clothing. As the central character on the poster looks like a cartoon, the children will connect to the animations they watch. The narrative will attract the children more and encourage them to get involved with a story that has the sun protection information included in it. I will tell the children to draw similar posters and which will tell their own stories. I will repeat the poster making process at regular intervals. Thus the poster can be a great initiative to build their interest in the sun protection program.

Golden Square Kindergarten Sun Protection Policy

I will place the poster near the shelf we keep the toys. It is evident that the children are most excited about the playing with the toys. Putting the poster near the shelf will attract the children’s concentration most. The umbrellas, hats and sunscreen will be kept on the shelf below the poster. Therefore the moment the poster will attract their concentration, it will also remind them of the essential protective elements before going outside. The poster will be big enough to attract the children. As the toy shelf is just at the opposite of door, the children will notice the poster when they enter the room.

There are many effective teaching aids for improving the children’s learning, colorful poster is one of them. Educational posters are visually appealing and eye catching. I believe the use of bright colors and bold texts are capable of grabbing children’s attention. The character is at the central which appears to be funny and I assume that the children will relate to the character easily. The poster will act as an effective medium between the children and the messages. I engaged the children in the creative process of making the poster. The children are most active during the creative play and the interaction will enhance their imagination power. This can become a successful strategy for delivering the sun smart message to the children. The poster can be interactive as I can communicate to the children using the poster. I expect the children to react to the poster actively rather than being passive recipients. Following the poster creation the children developed their own creative posters. That helped them to combine their knowledge and self skill. I have left a section empty in the poster so that the students can express their feelings on them and reuse them. The motivational poster regarding applying sun smart policy will help the students to gain knowledge and develop self skills. The vibrant educational poster can become a significant part of the learning process.

Reference

Diamondcreekeastpreschool.com.au. (2016). SUN PROTECTION POLICY. [online] Available at: https://diamondcreekeastpreschool.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/37-DCEPreSchool-Sun-protection-policy-May2015.pdf [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017].

Goldensquarekindergarten.com.au. (2017). SUN PROTECTION POLICY. [online] Available at: https://www.goldensquarekindergarten.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Sun-Protection.pdf [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017].

Harrison, S.L., Garzón-Chavez, D.R. and Nikles, C.J., 2016. Sun protection policies of Australian primary schools in a region of high sun exposure. Health education research, 31(3), pp.416-428.

Kidshealth.org. (2017). Sun Safety. [online] Available at: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sun-safety.html [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017].

Olsen, C.M., Wilson, L.F., Green, A.C., Bain, C.J., Fritschi, L., Neale, R.E. and Whiteman, D.C., 2015. Cancers in Australia attributable to exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation and prevented by regular sunscreen use. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 39(5), pp.471-476.

Raisingchildren.net.au. (2017). Sun Safety for Babies and Children. [online] Available at: https://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/safety_in_the_sun.html [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017].

Sunsmart.com.au. (2011). Be SunSmart, Play SunSmart. [online] Available at: https://www.sunsmart.com.au/downloads/communities/early-childhood-primary-school/resources/be-sunsmart-play-sunsmart.pdf [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017].

Turner, D., Harrison, S.L., Buettner, P. and Nowak, M., 2014. School sun-protection policies—does being SunSmart make a difference?. Health education research, 29(3), pp.367-377.

Wallingford, S.C., Iannacone, M.R., Youlden, D.R., Baade, P.D., Ives, A., Verne, J., Aitken, J.F. and Green, A.C., 2015. Comparison of melanoma incidence and trends among youth under 25 years in Australia and England, 1990–2010. International journal of cancer, 137(9), pp.2227-2233.

Who.int. (2003). Sun Protection: A Primary Teaching Resource. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/uv/publications/en/primaryteach.pdf [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017].