Article review date
Oct 2024
Summary
This systematic review examined the awareness and use of the ultraviolet radiation (UV) index according to the World Health Organisation definition. The authors identified 40 publications with an outcome related to either awareness of the UV index (UVI), sun exposure or protective behaviours in association with UVI, and the impact of UVI interventions. The review also assessed the risk of bias within the included studies using the working group guidelines of Joanna Briggs Institute (Munn et al. 2015). The review identified variation in public awareness of the UV index between countries. The highest level of awareness was noted in Australia with over 90% of study participants reporting to have UV index awareness. Notably, the awareness in other countries was reported to be much lower (Europeans 50%, New Zealanders 43%, North Americans 34%). Despite being the high awareness of the UV index in Australia, only less than 10% of Australians use the UV index to inform their sun protection behaviour. There was a high risk of bias for all the outcomes that examined the use of the UV index for sun protective behaviours in Australia. The review recommended that further information needs to be disseminated on the advantages on using the UV index to better inform sun protection behaviours globally.
Published in:
Kaiser et al. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2024
Link to study
ARPANSA commentary
The study shows that awareness of UV index considerably varied globally with Australians having the highest awareness of the UV index. This finding demonstrates the success of the Australian sun protection messaging to spread awareness of the UV index. However, the UV index has not always been considered by the Australian public while considering how to protect themselves from UV exposure. In Australia, there are policies and recommendations in place to protect people from harmful UV exposure. For example, in Victoria, 97% of early childhood services and 90% of primary schools have policies to use the UV index to inform sun protection (SunSmart 2024) in their settings. Similar data for other Australian state and territory are lacking. The use of media and app to enhance the dissemination awareness of the UV index has been highlighted in the study. One of the limitations of the review is that it is difficult to draw qualitative evidence on how UV index is used to inform sun protection behaviours. Therefore, more research is needed to understand how Australians use the UV index.
Despite the high awareness of the UV index in Australia and the Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide messaging, Australia has some of the highest rates of melanoma and skin cancer in the world and two-thirds of Australians will receive a skin cancer diagnosis of some type in their lifetime. As such, skin cancers, including melanoma, continue to constitute a large public health burden. This indicates that further work is needed to improve Australians’ sun protection behaviours and improve awareness on how to use the UV index to inform those behaviours. The UV index helps Australians know when UV exposure is high, and they should avoid sun exposure or practice other sun protection measures. More information on UV protection can be found on the ARPANSA Sun Protection factsheet. The UV index must be disseminated with greater efficacy via the media and apps. Currently, a free SunSmart Global UV app is available to know live UV index of global cities in view of boosting public awareness of the UV index globally.
