Development and evaluation of a brochure on sun protection and sun exposure for tourists

Abstract

Holidays in the sun have been identified as a risk factor for the development of melanoma. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a brochure designed to reduce sun exposure in tourists travelling to high-risk destinations. The tourists came from an area where there are strong social norms for sun protection, so the focus of the brochure was to highlight the extra risks associated with their destination, ie the higher ambient levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) closer to the equator. The effectiveness of the brochure was tested using a randomised controlled trial (n=373). Results suggest that the brochure was appreciated, and that those who received the brochure may have spent more of the four-hour peak UVR period out of the sun. However, receiving the brochure does not appear to have resulted in lowered sunburn rates. Brochures about sun protection and sun exposure on holi days distributed at the point of embarkation may be a useful priming strategy as part of more comprehensive programmes which should include structural interventions at the holiday destinations.