Most previous research has relied on self-reported behaviours by youth and adults and proxy reports for children. The limitations of self-report and proxy data should not be overlooked. Operational definitions of sun-related variables have varied greatly across published studies. This was identified as a serious barrier to advancing this area of research. There is also considerable variation related to recall periods.
More work is needed to develop scales and indices for assessment of sun-related behaviours.
Most previous studies have reported on individual protective behaviours and have not considered the potential cumulative effect of multiple protective behaviours. The workshop resulted in a set of recommendations that will be useful to those conducting research and program evaluations in this area. Overall, workshop participants identified measurement research as a high priority. Recommendations Core Items Six core items were developed for inclusion in omnibus-style behaviour surveillance surveys and smaller scale evaluation efforts. Table 1 lists the recommended core items in order of priority sunburn, phenotype, sun exposure and sun protection and summarizes the rationale for each item.