Associação entre educação e saúde no ensino médio a partir da abordagem investigativa sobre o câncer de pele

Abstract

Scientific education should enable citizens to analyze everyday situations, and unfortunately, the incidence of cancer cases has been increasing. Among all types, skin cancer stands out, as it is the most common disease in people with fair skin worldwide and the most frequent type of cancer in Brazil, accounting for about 30% of all malignant tumors registered in the country. Numerous factors are considered risks for the development of skin cancer, such as the number of moles, skin color, excessive sun exposure, family history of skin cancer, and history of malignant neoplasms. Thus, the different rates of occurrence of this disease, as well as its progression to death, may be more closely related to different causes. Although it is more common in people over 60 years old, behavior regarding UV radiation exposure in the first decades of life can significantly increase the chance of developing skin cancer later on. Therefore, knowledge about risk factors and preventive measures from high school education can be a key element in combating this type of cancer and other diseases. In this way, diversified strategies to reach the population are of great interest. This study proposes a didactic sequence of seven lessons developed with a first-year high school class with the aim of stimulating data analysis and interpretation, reflection, organization of ideas, discussion, and finally, reaching conclusions about the main risk factors for skin cancer, as well as the forms of prevention against the disease. Additionally, a digital game was developed to make the understanding of the topic more fun and interactive.