New Mexico is leading the charge on sun safety. In this blog, we highlight their 2006 report on the success of the RAYS - Raising awareness in youth about sun safety, program launched by the New Mexico Department of Health Comprehensive Cancer Program. This report is an update on their program and shows changes in self-reported sun safety knowledge increases by children in schools. View their program to see the dramatic increase on pre-post tests which tell us about the changes in students’ knowledge, attitudes and behavior towards sun safety.
http://www.cancernm.org/cancercouncil/pdf/RAYS_Program_06_Summary_Report.pdf
Climate change continues to influence our behavior more than ever before, not only with the environment but even with fashion and trends. As health becomes a dominant factor in our every day choices, health trends are also affecting the outward appearance as can be evidenced on todays fashion runways, with the preference of a more natural look. The new look today is no longer about “tanned skin”, and a glowing natural looking skin that looks ‘healthy’ is seen as more fashionable.
Influenced by a group of beauty editors, the Skin Cancer Foundation were inspired to create a campaign that would spread the word on “Go with your own glow!”, a message that spreads the fact that tanning is no longer desirable or fashionable and is obsolete in todays lifestyle. A natural glowing healthy skin is now ‘the look’ to have.
To learn more about the “Go with your own glow” campaign, please visit http://www.skincancer.org/content/view/272/19/
Posters for the campaign may be viewed at,
http://www.skincancer.org/images/stories/Glow/hat-poster.pdf
http://www.skincancer.org/images/stories/Glow/tree-poster.pdf
http://www.skincancer.org/images/stories/Glow/parasol-poster.pdf
PTA’s and PTO’s are encouraged to learn more about School policies that promote sun safety and prevent skin cancer through a document produced by the National Association of State Boards of Education. This policy document titled “Fit, Healthy and Ready to Learn” - Policies to promote sun safety and prevent skin cancer has informative strategies that schools may adopt to help their campuses be more sun safe.
An alarming fact that I picked up from the article, was the point where The US Federal Government has classified solar radiation as a known human carcinogen. Over exposure to uv rays is amongst the group of agents that cause cancer, included with a list that includes asbestos, arsenic, radon and tobacco smoke. Skin cancer, although preventable, has become the most common type of cancer in the United States, with children being the most vulnerable group, as sun exposure is linked to childhood especially before the age of 10.
To learn more on how your school may become sun safe please access the link here to download the complete document. http://www.nasbe.org/healthyschools/download_pdf/Fit%20Healthy%20Sun%20Safetyw.pdf
Picture showing a covered outdoor basketball court with shade structures. Children may play extended hours and enjoy protection from harsh uv rays.
We are shades ahead since 1998!
In 1998 the AMC Cancer Research Center sponsored by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency undertook a survey on 1000 schools across the country and found an alarmingly low 3.4% of schools had sun protection policies in place in their schools.
The conclusion of the survey showed that the low frequency of sun protection policies and shade structures called for a national effort to change policies and environments to increase sun protection at US schools. At almost the same time as this survey was being conducted, our manufacturing arm TricoUSA, began manufacturing shade structures in the United States, and without hard facts and statisitices we have found that there has been an increased awareness and practice at more and more schools in the country. When we began marketing our products to schools back then we could hardly give our shade structures away, eventually as the awareness grew and the need for sun protection was seen we found schools desiring the structures but were challenged with the required funds to purchase them. It was for this reason we created Shade4Schools fundraising program, to assist schools access these structures and protect children while at play outdoors. For all of us in the shade structure industry, it is so pleasing to see the trend shift and for us to receive market acceptance for our products, it gives us great pleasure to drive by a school and witness a shade structure whether ours or a competitors shielding children as they play.
As we approach the 10 year anniversary of this survey it will be interesting to learn how far we have come and how much more percentage of schools now practice sun protection policies. To view the 1998 report - http://archderm.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/138/6/771 .
