Sun protection behavior: health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions

Abstract

Sun protection behavior can reduce skin cancer risk. This paper provides an overview of skin cancer risk and the complex behavioral options for sun protection, along with a narrative review of research on determinants of, and interventions to promote, sun protection. Gaps and opportunities for future research are also outlined. Evidence supports the effectiveness of sunscreen use, ultraviolet (UV) protection clothing, and shade seeking. However, these behaviors are complex and are often performed in ways that are inadequate for sun protection. Most research examining and targeting determinants of sun protection behavior has focused on sunscreen use, to the exclusion of other strategies, and has largely ignored the complexity of even sunscreen use. Most research and interventions are theory- driven, drawing on social cognitive constructs, but also considering self and social identity and emotion. Multilevel perspectives considering context, environment, policies, and other structural contexts have also been applied to sun protection behavior, but there is a need to combine psychological constructs with factors at other levels to optimize predictive models and intervention effectiveness. Effective sun protection effectively involves complex behaviors and perceived and actual tradeoffs that should be considered, in combination with multilevel determinants, in research predicting and promoting sun safety.

Keywords: Sun protection; health behavior theory; sun safety.