The Kids researcher Dr Shelley Gorman has received a Healthway grant to develop an online tool to promote safe sun behaviours to teenagers.
The two-year pilot study - which is being carried out in collaboration with Cancer Council WA, Australian National University and Curtin University - will develop a prototype online tool to foster safe sun exposure practises in teenagers. Young teens between the ages of 12 and 13 will be recruited as ‘co-researchers’ as the transition from primary school to high school is a critical time of influence on their sun behaviours.
This tool will aim to improve the knowledge and behaviours that this vulnerable group has around sun protection and exposure; that is, how to best balance their competing needs to limit the damage of excessive sun exposure and receive sufficient sun exposure for adequate vitamin D.
Dr Gorman, who is a Senior Research Fellow at The Kids Research Institute Australia with expertise in the effects of sun exposure on health, says new interventions are required to better support teenagers make better decisions around sun protection and exposure.
“Despite education about the risks of skin cancer, teenagers in WA are sun seeking, with tanned skin seen as desirable,” she said.
“We hope that this online tool will support young people to make more balanced and healthy decisions around their sun behaviours to reduce their risk of developing skin cancers in later life, and provide them with sufficient vitamin D for optimal bone health.”
Health Minister Roger Cook announced the funding.
You can read the Minister’s full statement here.