A new sun protection program, Sun SMART, was just announced in a small town in Arkansas. The Fort Smith program is aimed at teaching kids about sun protection and is a collaborative effort a collaboration between the Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House, Fort Smith Parks Department and the Fort Smith Public Library.
The effort to provide sun protection education is admirable and congratulations are deserved.
But the advice is incomplete at best and misleading at worst.
Why not get it right by giving the full advice suggested by the experts instead of making up something new which is incomplete and misleading.? Why not use SunAWARE? There is no charge or obligation to use this acronym. It was developed for the American public to be used by any skin cancer prevention and detection education program.
Let’s look at this new program. It is called the Sun SMART program, which could easily be confused with the SunSmart program offered in Australia, except that in this case, the word smart has been turned into an acronym.
The acronym SMART stands for: Slip on a hat or T-shirt , Move to shade, Apply sunscreen. Reapply sunscreen every few hours and Tell your friends to be Sun SMART.
But look at the advice in this new acronym.
Slip on a hat or T-Shirt – should be “wear sun protective clothing including a hat with a three-inch brim and sunglasses”. Sun protective clothing is very different than just a t-shirt. T-shirts offer UPF levels of less than 10 because the weave is so loose. Sun protection clothing is manufactured to standards that offer complete protection or UPF 50+. Further, the kind of hat should also be clarified as too many people still think baseball caps are sufficient. And wearing clothing and a hat is not an either/or suggestion. Both forms of protection are necessary. Sunglasses should also be included as an equally important part of this advice.
Move to shade. Yes, seeking shade is important. However, one should simply be warned to avoid unprotected exposure so that measures are taken that will provide protection even from the ambient rays (rays that bounce from surfaces) found in shade. And warnings should be provided to avoid exposure to UVR in tanning beds as well as the sun.
Apply sunscreen. Well, yes, but what kind. Including the words “broad-spectrum” would go a long way to clarify. And “reapply sunscreen every few hours,” should be to reapply every two hours.
Tell your friends …..educating your friends and family is important, and part of that education should include the advice to routinely check skin for changes, understand the need for vitamin D, and report concerns to a health care provider.
This is serious stuff. We do not advocate the use of the SunAWARE acronym because we created it, but because it is the best one available. The Arkansas program was developed because melanoma diagnoses in Arkansas have risen 53% from 1997 to 2007. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. The creators of the program correctly recognized that this is a important and costly public health issue.
In addition, the advice in SunAWARE can be tailored for children. Here is an example of a short video we developed in cooperation with our sponsor, Coolibar.
But it’s important to get it right.
Please consider using the SunAWARE acronym.
Be Safe. Be SunAWARE.
