New research puts forth a potential approach for promoting sunscreen use to combat the persistent prevalence of skin cancer.
"While the risks of not wearing sunscreen are well-documented, there are no effective interventions to promote sunscreen use across populations, and existing interventions have modest outcomes," the authors wrote in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. "The current study investigated a novel intervention to increase sunscreen use."
The study population included 15 participants. All participants reported their sunscreen use at baseline. They then tested various sunscreen samples, chose preferred options to take home, and eventually selected a single preferred sunscreen for daily use over the study period. Study participants then self-reported their sunscreen use over approximately two weeks.
The results showed that all participants increased their sunscreen use following the intervention. Study limitations included the months in which data were collected (between January and May, which may naturally see increased sunscreen use due to rising temperatures and more time spent outdoors), as well as reliance on self-reported data.
"Our findings suggest that allowing individuals to test sunscreen options and providing them with a bottle of sunscreen may increase their regular sunscreen use. We observed an increase in post-intervention sunscreen use among all participants," the authors concluded. "Compared to past work, the current study intervention may be a viable and effective strategy for promoting regular sunscreen use."
Source: Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. 2024;17(7):20–22.