In this document, you’ll find...

• The SunWise Story

• A Study in Sun Safety Awareness

• Information on How SunWise 

Saves Lives and Money

• Lessons in Program Effectiveness

• Skin Cancer Facts

• How Schools and Community 

Organizations Can Become SunWise

• Publications and References

A Roadmap

A free skin cancer prevention and ozone 

layer education program for K–8 learners.

The U.S. EPA’s SunWise Program
A Study in Sun 

Safety Awareness

Starting with a “pilot group” in 1999, the SunWise 

Program has undergone routine evaluations to 

determine its effectiveness on student sun safety 

knowledge, attitudes, practices, and intended 

practices using student responses to surveys. 

❂ Teachers leading SunWise lessons have also completed 

program evaluations, in which three out of four have noted 

improvements in their own sun protection behaviors.

❂ The most recent study, conducted in 2006–2007, took the 

evaluation of changes in students’ sun safety behaviors 

one step further by analyzing the human health benefits of 

SunWise (e.g., fewer skin cancer cases and mortalities), 

then comparing these benefits to the program’s costs.1

❂ The study found that using SunWise to teach 

children about sun safety saves lives and money.

1

❂ The study is unique because few studies to date have 

analyzed the benefits of school-based health programs 

in economic terms. This is the first study to review the 

cost-benefit of a school-based sun safety program. 

❂ The study results were published in the May 2008 

issue of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American 

Academy of Pediatrics and one of the leading 

publications for pediatric research. The full article, 

entitled “Economic Evaluation of the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency’s SunWise Program: Sun Protection 

Education for Young Children,” is available online at 

www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/121/5/e1074.

SunWise Saves 

Lives and Money

The newest evaluation of SunWise assessed 

student survey responses from 1999–2005 to 

determine program effectiveness, benefit-to-cost 

ratio, and cost-effectiveness. 

❂ Teachers can bring about modest changes in students’ 

sun protection behavior, such as wearing sunscreen or 

a hat more frequently, by taking 1–2 hours each year to 

use activities in the free, standards-based and crosscurricular SunWise Tool Kit. These modest changes can 

lead to significant health benefits in the future.1

❂ As a result of teaching SunWise to children between 

the years 1999–2015, EPA estimates that more than 

50 premature deaths and 11,000 cases of skin 

cancer will be prevented. 1

❂ By increasing federal spending by just a few pennies per 

person more over the next seven years, the SunWise 

Program could save 20 more lives and prevent more 

than 4,000 more cases of skin cancer. 1

❂ Every federal dollar invested in SunWise saves $2–$4 

in public health costs, such as medical care costs and 

productivity losses associated with skin cancer. 1

❂ The larger the investment in SunWise, the greater the 

number of reduced skin cancer cases and mortalities, and 

the more cost-effective the program becomes. 1

❂ $

1 spent on SunWise saves 

$

2–$4 in public health costs.

❂ Launched nationwide during the 2000–2001 school year, this award-winning program 

is available to schools and informal education organizations, to promote sustained 

sun-safe behaviors in children. 

❂ As of 2008, more than 18,000 schools and one million students are SunWise.

❂ Schools and partners receive a free SunWise Tool Kit with over 50 standards-based, 

cross-curricular activities, a UV-sensitive Frisbee® for experiments, story and activity 

books, posters and more. 

❂ The program is flexible and activities fit into what an educator is already doing. The 

time commitment can be as little as one to two hours during the entire school year. 

The SunWise Story
❂ As part of the first survey effort, students completed 

pre-test surveys between autumn and early spring and 

post-tests immediately after being taught the SunWise 

lessons (spring to early summer).2

❂ A large school district also served as a control group for 

this study (the students at these schools did not receive 

SunWise education between the pre- and post-tests). 2

2 Among the more than 1,800 students aged 

5–12 that received a SunWise education, the 

percentage of students who knew the right 

number SPF of sunscreen to wear increased 

by 25%.

2

2 Results also showed a 4% decrease in students 

who thought people look healthier with a 

suntan. 2

2 Modest changes were observed in student 

practices from pre-test to post-test, and intentions 

to both play in the shade and use sunscreen 

increased by 4% to 5%.

2

2 This compared very favorably with control schools 

where no improvements in attitudes or practices 

were noted. 2

❂ As part of the second survey effort, a separate group of 

students received the pre-test and two post-tests from 

their school nurses: one post-test immediately after 

being taught SunWise and another the following fall to 

determine if students retained the SunWise lessons and 

maintained their SunWise behaviors.3, 4

2 477 children completed the second set of posttests, which indicated that students maintained 

their gains in knowledge and attitudes. 3, 4

2 In addition, an 11% decrease in sunburning 

rates, particularly in frequent burns, was noted 

from summer 2000–summer 2001. 3, 4

Lessons in Effectiveness

Surveys of children and teachers have taken place since the inception of the program in 1999. From 

1999–2002, two special efforts evaluated the effectiveness of the SunWise classroom lessons on 

student knowledge, attitudes, practices, and intended practices using student responses to identical 

pre-test and post-test surveys. 

❂ 11% decrease 

in sunburning 

rates, particularly 

frequent burns.
Skin Cancer Facts

SunWise aims to prevent skin cancer by 

changing the sun protection behaviors of 

children and their caregivers. 

❂ In 2008, an estimated 8,400+ people will die 

of melanoma.

5

❂ Approximately half of all cancers in the U.S. are skin 

cancers. One in five Americans will develop skin 

cancer during their lifetime.

6

❂ This year alone, more than one million new cases

of skin cancer will be found in the United States.6

2 The number of people diagnosed with melanoma, 

which is responsible for approximately 75% of all 

skin cancer deaths, is rising at an alarming rate. It 

is projected that for persons born in 2008, one in 

58 will be diagnosed with melanoma7—that’s 

about 20 times higher than it was for persons born 

in 1930.8

❂ Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light is the number-one 

preventable risk factor for skin cancer. Taking simple 

steps now to prevent overexposure lowers one’s risk. 

❂ In a majority of studies, researchers have found a 

positive relationship between childhood sunburns 

and the subsequent risk of melanoma.

9

How Schools and 

Community Organizations 

Can Become SunWise 

❂ Schools may register to receive a free Tool Kit online 

at: www.epa.gov/sunwise/becoming.html.

❂ SunWise also partners with science centers, museums, 

parks, camps, and other informal education facilities 

to expand and reinforce the SunWise message. By 

working with multiple organizations within a community, 

SunWise Communities takes the program from the 

classroom into the community at large. Partners may 

register to receive a free Tool Kit at: 

www.epa.gov/sunwise/becoming_partner.html.

❂ For more information, schools and partners may visit 

the SunWise Web site at: www.epa.gov/sunwise.

SunWise Evaluation Publications 

and Other References Cited

1. Kyle, J.W., et al. 2008. Economic Evaluation of the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency’s SunWise Program: Sun Protection Education for Young 

Children. Pediatrics 121(5), e1074-e1084.

2. Geller, A.C., et al. 2002. The Environmental Protection Agency’s National 

SunWise School Program: Sun protection education in U.S. schools 

(1999-2000). Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 46(5), 683-689.

3. Geller, A., et al. 2003. Evaluation of the SunWise School Program. The 

Journal of School Nursing. 19(2), 93-99.

4. Geller, A.C., et al. 2003. Can an hour or two of sun protection education keep 

the sunburn away? Evaluation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 

SunWise School Program. Environmental Health: A Global Access Science 

Source 2003, 2(13). Available online at: www.ehjournal.net/content/2/1/13.

5. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2008. Available at 

www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/2008CAFFfinalsecured.pdf. Accessed 

April 11, 2008.

6. American Cancer Society (ACS). 2008. Available at www.cancer.org/

docroot/PED/content/ped_7_1_What_You_Need_To_Know_About_Skin_

Cancer.asp?sitearea=&level=>. Accessed April 10, 2008.

7. American Academy of Dermatology. 2008 Skin Cancer Fact Sheet. Available 

at www.aad.org/media/background/factsheets/fact_skincancer.html. 

Accessed April 16, 2008.

8. Rigel, D.R.J. Friedman, A.W. Kopf, 1996. The Incidence of Malignant 

Melanoma in the United States: Issues as We Approach the 21st Century. 

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 34(5), 839-847. May 1996.

9. Oliveria, S.A., et al. 2006. Sun Exposure and Risk of Melanoma. Arc Dis 

Child. 91:131–138. doi: 10.1136/adc.2005.086918.

Percentage 

of K–8 Schools

Registered with

SunWise 

4-10%

18-24%

25-35%

36-75%

11-17%

WA

OR

ID

NV

CA

AZ

AK

HI

NM

CO

WY

MT ND

SD

NE

KS

OK

TX LA

AR

MO

IA

MN

WI

IL

MI

IN

KY

TN

MS AL GA

SC

NC

VA DC

MD

DE

NJ CT

RI

NY

VT

ME

NH MA

PA

WV

FL

OH UT

Office of Air and Radiation (6205J)

EPA-430-F-08-007

www.epa.gov

May 2008

SunWise is in all 50 states!