Sun Protection Behaviors and Health

Bright Yellow Sun Over The Clouds

Our long-term goal is to develop interventions to improve sun behaviors to ​reduce skin cancer incidence and mortality in the United States.

skin cancer prevention

Most skin cancers are caused by too much exposure to ultraviolet ​(UV) radiation from the sun or tanning beds.


In order to reduce your risk of skin cancer, you can protect your ​skin from the sun and avoid purposeful tanning. The Centers for ​Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following:

  • Stay in the shade
  • Wear clothing that covers your arms and legs
  • Wear a hat with a wide brim
  • Wear sunglasses
  • Use broad spectrum sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher
  • Avoid indoor tanning


This is particularly important if you have a personal or family ​history of skin cancers, including melanoma, have had a solid ​organ transplant or are taking immunosuppressive medications.

Current Research

Eliciting sun behavior beliefs to inform messaging and intervention ​development for skin cancer prevention in rural Minnesota

Over 5 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year, more than all other cancers combined. The number of people diagnosed with skin cancer in on the rise and is a problem in Minnesota. Minnesota is #2 in the country in sunburns and #4 in melanoma related to ultraviolet radiation/sun exposure.


We are partnering with the American Cancer Society to conduct a survey in Minnesota to identify rural-specific beliefs about sun protection behaviors, such as wearing a hat or using sunscreen, to inform future public health messaging to improve rural sun safety.


Status: We have completed data collection and are analyzing the data and publishing the results.




Dr. Vogel received grant funding from ​the Masonic Cancer Center and National ​Cancer Institute to support this research.


Previous Research

Wearable Device Intervention to Improve Sun Protection

Behaviors in Melanoma Survivors (MELD Study)

Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer. Once you have been diagnosed with melanoma, you are at a ​more than 9 times greater risk for another melanoma diagnosis.


We conducted a 12-week randomized, controlled trial among 368 melanoma survivors ages 18-75 years old to ​determine whether a wearable device which measures sun exposure would improve sun protection behaviors and ​reduce sunburns.


What we found: 386 participants were randomized (186 control, 182 intervention). We found that wearing a device ​that measured and alerted melanoma survivors to UVR exposure did not result in different sun behaviors, ​exposure, or sunburns relative to controls. The technology needs refinement before further attempts to assess the ​effectiveness of self-monitoring UVR exposure.

Dr. Vogel received grant funding from the Melanoma ​Research Alliance through the Wayne Stinchcomb Big ​Orange Foundation-MRA Young Investigator Award and ​the American Cancer Society to support this research.


previous Research

Sun Exposure and Protection Behaviors among Long-term ​Melanoma Survivors and Population Controls


The goal of this study was to compare measures of ultraviolet radiation (sun) exposure and protection behaviors ​between long-term melanoma survivors and controls.


We conducted a follow-up survey of 724 individuals with a history of melanoma and 660 similar population controls ​without melanoma to compare their sun exposure and sun protection behaviors.


What we found: Although long-term melanoma survivors reported healthier sun exposure and protection ​behaviors compared with controls overall, melanoma survivors reported similar rates of weekend sun exposure, ​20% reported at least one sunburn in the past year (a significant risk factor for skin cancer), and 10% reported still ​intentionally tanning. Most survivors reported not wearing a hat or staying in the shade when outside in the sun on ​a warm summer day.

We received grant funding from the ​Masonic Cancer Center and National ​Cancer Institute to support this research.


previous Research

Establishing indoor tanning as a risk factor for melanoma: the ​Skin Health Study

Indoor tanning has gained popularity since the early 1980s. In 2009, the International Agency for Research on ​Cancer (IARC) classified tanning devices as carcinogenic to humans. Prior to our study, the evidence was limited ​that melanoma occurrence increases with frequent indoor tanning use.


In 2004, DeAnn Lazovich and team initiated the Skin Health Study, a population-based case-control study in ​Minnesota designed to look at indoor tanning and risk of melanoma.


What we found: We established a clear effect and dose-response relationship between indoor tanning and ​melanoma that has led to policy changes at the state and national level. We also found that indoor tanning can ​increase the risk of melanoma even among individuals who have never had a sunburn and that women who were ​diagnosed with melanoma at a young age nearly all reported a history of indoor tanning compared to controls.

Dr. Lazovich received grant funding from the ​National Cancer Institute to support this research.


Related Publications

Click on the title to read the article.


  • Dona AC, Jewett PI, Henning-Smith C, Ahmed RL, Wei ML, Lazovich D, Vogel RI. Rural-Urban Differences in Sun Exposure and Protection Behaviors ​in the United States. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024 Apr 3;33(4):608-615. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-23-1264. PMID: 38227023; PMCID: ​PMC10990774.