UV radiation exposure is a significant concern for fair-skinned people, as it causes skin blemishes, tumors, malignant and benign cancers. Behavioral intervention is a viable strategy to reduce these risks. Sun related programs are currently one of the top ways to create interventions. This study evaluates the effects of such programs conducted in four different European countries.
The EPIDERM project covered Scotland, Finland, Malta, and the Netherlands. The goal was to collect and integrate data to assess the impact of interventions. The risk factors included country, age, sex, population size, hobbies, skin type, and childhood sunburns. The data collection included incidence rates of leukemia, basal, and squamous carcinoma. Interventions focused on preventing, increasing, and decreasing sun exposure. The study used a dynamic simulation model called PREVENT.
Effective interventions targeted outdoor workers and hobbyists. More than 50% of the population in all countries had outdoor activities. The abolishment of sunbeds usage was very effective in Scotland. Behavioral changes can reduce the incidence of skin cancers. This study estimated population proportions exposed to work or leisure UVR. A combination of interventions can reduce melanomas and basal or squamous carcinomas.
This method can effectively reduce skin cancer incidence by 40% by the year 2050. The reduction in melanomas’ future cases is 31%, while basal and squamous carcinomas will decrease by 35% and 46%
Ref: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2133.2012.11087.x
