A US School of Public Health study published last week revealed that African Americans are largely ignoring sun safety messages, despite research showing that African Americans were more likely to die from melanoma, compared to fair skinned Americans.
The study, of 2187 African Americans living in California aged 18-95, revealed that only about 31% of those surveyed always engaged in sun-protective behavior, while 62.7% never wear sunscreen.
The authors argue that although darker skin may protect some individuals, the level of protection varies and sunburn and skin cancer do occur in African Americans. While they identify a number of measures which could help improve sun protection in African Americans, thereby reducing skin cancer rates, awareness and belief change among the community is highlighted as the primary goal.
The full paper can be accessed online: Pichon, LC, et al., (2010). “Prevalence and Correlates of Sun-Protection Behaviors Among African Americans.” Am J Prev Med. ePub 2/2/210.
