Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, Vol 7, No 1 (2011)

Abstract

Social marketing methods are nowadays frequently used in the development of health
prevention programs. The main Objectives of this paper are: to identify the role of skin protection
programs in society, to evaluate sun protection behavior among consumers and to propose future
directions of research in skin cancer prevention. Prior Work in skin protection focused on the risks
associated with long periods of sun exposure while offering advice regarding responsible behavior. In
Europe, the main center of skin cancer research is European Cancer Observatory and, in Romania,
Romanian Society of Dermatology (SRD). These institutions develop specialized programs annualy.
The Approach used in this article is the survey. The paper analysis consumers’ perceptions regarding
skin protection behavior in Romania by using a structured online questionnaire. A total number of 86
respondents participated in the study. Results show that 53% of respondents don’t have a sun
protection behavior. Implications of the study are: health practitioners can use these findings in
further research and nonprofit organizations can increase their prevention programs in certain groups.
The Value of this paper consists of direct analysis regarding skin cancer issue in Romania while
emphasizing the importance of health prevention programs for social marketing domain.