Sun Protection Awareness Through Reading in Kids (SPARK): A Pilot Study in Pediatric Dermatology Clinic

This pilot study aimed to create and evaluate a scientifically accurate children’s book about sun protection and assess its impact on caregiver knowledge and satisfaction. Twenty caregivers completed pre-and post-intervention surveys, revealing significant improvement in sun safety knowledge (p=0.0312) and identifying common barriers such as “My child doesn’t like wearing sunscreen” and “Staying in the shade is hard.” Caregivers unanimously agreed that the book effectively delivered relevant safety information to children and offered valuable insights for fostering sun protective behaviors. These findings suggest the utility of educational children’s literature as a promising tool for improving sun safety practices and identifying caregiver barriers.