Centro Studi GISED

SoleSi SoleNo is a randomized study carried out in Italian elementary schools to assess the efficacy of educational intervention in order to promote correct conditions of sun-exposure in schoolchildren. Excessive exposure to UV radiation during childhood seems to play a role in the development of skin cancer in adulthood.

The study was coordinated by the Centro Studi GISED in collaboration with the General Epidemiology Laboratory (Mario Negri Institute, Milan).

A pilot phase, started in 2001, and involved 4,233 children who enrolled in the intervention and control group. Preliminary results and study-protocol were published in Dermatology (1).

The study, completed in 2004, involved 122 randomized elementary schools, 62 in the intervention and 60 in the control group, and 11,230 randomized children, with an average age of 8 years, 5,576 in the intervention and 5,554 in the control group.
Educational interventions, lasting 4-19 hours, were conducted by trained teachers, using educational materials such as video projection, and distribution of booklets to children and their parents.
At the end of follow-up (1 year) no significant effect of the proposed intervention on sun-protection in children's habits was documented.

Final results were published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2).

1. Improving sun protection behaviour in children: study design and baseline results of a randomized trial in Italian elementary schools. The 'Sole Si Sole No GISED' project. Oncology Cooperative Group Of The Italian Group For Epidemiologic Research In Dermatology (GISED). Dermatology. 2003;207:291-7.
2. Naldi L, Chatenoud L, Bertuccio P,et al; Oncology Cooperative Group of the Italian Group for Epidemiologic Research in Dermatology (GISED). Improving sun-protection behavior among children: results of a cluster-randomized trial in Italian elementary schools. The "SoleSi SoleNo-GISED" Project. J Invest Dermatol. 2007;127:1871-7.

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