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Dr. Pack is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Professor of Community and Behavioral Health at East Tennessee State University. He is serving as the Principal Investigator for the ETSU Diversity-promoting Institutions Drug Abuse Research Program (DIDARP): Inter-professional Communication for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention in Appalachia

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Background/Purpose: Research suggests that youth proximity to tanning salons may promote use; however, little is known about tanning salon proximity to schools. We assessed the proximity of tanning salons to schools in urban versus rural/suburban communities across Worcester County, Massachusetts (population > 800K). To put findings in context, we compared school proximity to tanning salons to school proximity to McDonald's restaurants, a large franchise that also caters to young people. Materials & Methods: Accessibility was measured by ArcGIS 10.2 Network Analyzer (ESRI, Redlands, CA, USA) and the most current road network data layer from Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Results: A total of 145 schools were observed in the study area, of which about 39% of schools were within 1 mile from a tanning salon. Urban schools (53.41%) had a higher proportion within 1 mile of a tanning salon than rural/suburban schools (17.54%; P < .001). More schools (39.31%) were within 1 mile of a tanning salon than schools within 1 mile of a McDonald's (22.70%; P < .001). Conclusions: Schools may be particularly impactful for implementing skin cancer prevention programing.

Skin cancer incidence rates, including those for melanoma, continue to rise each year. These rates are increasing fastest among younger generations, making it important to understand the behavioral risks for the disease in this population. Adolescent females are especially at risk because of the ever-increasing popularity of indoor tanning (IT) and purposeful exposure to UV radiation. The study’s objective was to examine the prevalence of IT and the associated sociodemographic correlates in female teens (12-18 years of age) residing in the United States. Adolescent females (N=777) were recruited through Knowledge Networks’ online proprietary Knowledge Panel using dual frame recruiting with address-based and random-digit dialing to provide a national sample. Participants’ age, race, and tanning behavior, marital status of the parents and metropolitan residence status were self-reported in an online questionnaire. Frequencies and percentages were calculated. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent sociodemographic correlates of female teens ever having used a tanning bed or booth. Data analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 19. Eighteen percent of American female teens had ever engaged in IT. The sample was predominantly white (79.9%), lived in a metropolitan area (84.7%), and had parents who were married (75.6%). Metropolitan status was the strongest correlate of IT behavior, with non-metropolitan residents 2 times more likely to have ever indoor tanned compared to females living in metropolitan areas (Odds ratio (OR): 2.09, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.27-3.44). Additionally, a one-year increase in age was associated with 55% increase in the prevalence of ever IT (OR 1.5, CI 1.37- 1.75). Also, females with unmarried parents were 89% more likely to have ever tanned compared with females whose parents were married (OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.23-3.09). White females were 0.16 times more likely to have ever indoor tanned compared to other races (OR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.08-0.36). All independent variables were statistically significant at the p

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