Prevalence of Sun Protection at Outdoor Recreation and Leisure Venues at Resorts in North America.

Background: Exposure to solar ultra violet radiation (UVR) is a primary risk factor for skin cancer. Vacationers often fail to protect themselves from harmful UVR.

Purpose: The study assessed the sun protection practices of resort guests in various outdoor leisure and recreation venues during warm-weather seasons.

Method: 41 North American resorts were enrolled in a quasi-experimental randomized controlled trial. Adult guests were observed (n=4091) and surveyed (n=3694) in a cross sectional sample. Data collection was conducted in recreation and leisure venues with outdoors commons/reception areas acting as the comparison condition.

Results: The mean percent of vacationers at pools and beaches were more likely (p < 0.001) to wear sunscreen than in commons areas but less likely (p < 0.001) to wear cover-up clothing or use shade. In both samples, the combined sun protection scores were higher in commons areas compared to all venues except for outdoor dining (p < 0.001).

Discussion: Sun safety was suboptimal in all venues and was potentially mitigated by venue type.

Translation to Health Education Practice: Approaches are needed to encourage vacationers to practice comprehensive sun protection and to work with resorts to construct built environments that facilitate rather than act as barriers to sun safety.