“I’ve Told You a Hundred Times” Works for Sun Protection

In Australia, after years of educational efforts, more folks have taken to covering up while playing outdoors.

Over the years, public awareness programs have sought to educate people about the dangers of excessive sun exposure and to promote protective measures. One of the best programs is SunSmart, a 20-year-old program in Australia, where the skin cancer rates are the highest in the world. Studies of the effectiveness of this program, and others sponsored by the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Cancer Society, have yielded conflicting results. To eliminate response bias caused by interview subjects who may model their responses to fit expectations about sun-protective behavior, investigators in Australia performed an observational field study of clothing worn by individuals aged 14 and older while engaged in outdoor recreational ac…

Reviewing Author

Craig A. Elmets, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory board Astellas Pharmaceuticals

EquityVaxin

Grant / Research support NIH; NIH/NCI; Veteran’s Administration; Ferndale Laboratories; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma, Inc.

Editorial boards Cancer Prevention Research; Photodermatology, Photoimmunology, & Photomedicine; UpToDate; eMedicine; Journal of Dermatological Sciences; JAMA Dermatology

Leadership positions in professional societies American Academy of Dermatology (Vice Chair, Committee on Science and Research); Photomedicine Society (Board of Directors)