Telehealth Intervention Improves Sun Protection but Not Sustained Sunburn Outcomes in High-Risk Children

Children of melanoma survivors have approximately twice the lifetime risk of melanoma. A parallel-group randomized trial published in JAMA Dermatology evaluated a telehealth prevention intervention in 364 survivor–child dyads. Eligible children were aged 8–17 years and had experienced at least one sunburn during the previous year. Dyads received either FLARE, combining familial melanoma risk education and sun-protection skills, or an active control providing general skin cancer education, including identifying reputable health information. Both programs ran over four weeks. The primary outcome was change in child sunburn occurrence across two postintervention assessments.

Intention-to-treat analyses included 180 FLARE and 184 control dyads and found no significant between-group difference in sunburn change over time. At the first postintervention assessment, child-reported sunburn was lower with FLARE (B = −0.17; 95% CI, −0.30 to −0.04; P = .01). Sun-protective behaviors improved more with FLARE through the second assessment (B = 0.26; 95% CI, 0.14–0.38; P < .001). Intentional and unintentional tanning did not differ significantly between groups; both were infrequent at baseline.

The findings suggest family-focused telehealth education can improve protective behaviors but do not establish sustained sunburn prevention or reduced melanoma incidence. The primary outcome was negative despite the early sunburn signal. The available abstract does not provide absolute sunburn rates or assessment intervals, limiting interpretation of clinical magnitude and durability.