Australians confused about how sunburn occurs: Survey

While most people know that they need to slip, slop, slap in the scorching Australian sun, Cancer Council Australia has revealed many people are unintentionally increasing their skin cancer risk because they lack knowledge on how sunburn actually occurs. 

New data released on Monday revealed 40 per cent of Australians are confused by which weather factors cause sunburn. The study also found that less than one in 10 Aussies understand that protection against the sun is needed when UV levels reach three or above. In many cases, these levels are present in cloudy conditions.

Heather Walker, Chair of Cancer Council Australia’s National Skin Cancer Committee, said the National Sun Protection Survey results show a clear gap in Australians’ knowledge.

“This new research shows that Australians are still very confused about what causes sunburn, which means people aren’t protected when they need to be,” she said.

Walker said 24 per cent of Australian adults surveyed in 2016 and 2017 incorrectly believed that sunburn risk was related to temperature, while a further 23 per cent incorrectly cited weather conditions including cloud cover, wind and humidity.

Read more: Cancer Council urges Australian beachgoers to ditch aerosol sunscreen

“It’s important for us to reinforce the message that it’s Ultraviolet Radiation that is the major cause of skin cancer – and that UV can’t be seen or felt,” Walker adds. “It’s a particularly important message this time of year as we head into the Easter break. In Autumn, temperatures in some parts of the country are cooling, but UV levels right across Australia are still high enough to cause serious sunburn and the skin damage that leads to cancer.”

Professor David Whiteman, convenor of the Sunscreen Summit and head of the Cancer Control group at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, added that despite years of public education, encouraging Aussies to continually protect their skin is a major challenge.

“These findings show that very few Australians know when to protect their skin from the sun’s harmful rays,” he said.

Instead, he believes many people are relying on inaccurate factors like the temperature and clouds to figure out when they need to cover themselves with a shirt, apply sunscreen, seek shade and protect their eyes with sunglasses.

“There is overwhelming evidence that, if used correctly, sunscreen prevents skin cancer – yet at the moment many Australians don’t even really understand when it’s required, and many are neglecting to use it altogether,” Whiteman added. “We also know from previous research that 85 percent of Australians don’t apply it correctly.”

Read more: Australia’s Cancer Council shows the correct way to use sunscreen

As a result, the Cancer Council Australia says when UV levels are three or above, people should be wearing protective clothing, applying SPF30 (or higher) sun cream that is water resistant if swimming, protecting their face and neck with a broad-brim hat, opting for shady areas where possible and wearing sunglasses to protect the eyes.

More than 3,600 Australian adults were interviewed as part of Cancer Council Australia’s joint research with The University of Queensland and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. The Cancer Council has also released a SunSmart app that provides local UV alerts and sun protection times. It is currently available on the Apple App store and Google Play store.

Do you protect yourself in the sun? Are you surprised so many Australians aren’t aware of what actually causes sunburns?