Personal Sun Protection and Counseling Patterns among Primary Care Providers

Background: Personal sun protection and patient counseling patterns among primary care providers is an important topic that has not previously been studied in great detail. Our report evaluates the relationship between sun protection habits among providers, patterns in discussions with patients about sun protection, and prior education on this topic during medical training. Methods: An online survey was sent to family medicine faculty and house officers. Four survey questions about personal sun protection and patient counseling habits were provided. Participants were then asked whether they had received formal education concerning sun protection during their medical training. Results: Our results suggest that providers who received formal education on sun protection during their medical training were more likely to personally use adequate protection and counsel their patients on this topic. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of sun protection education among primary care providers. Our findings suggest that improving education on this topic among physicians may lead to increased awareness among both patients and providers. Productive discussions about sun protection in the primary care setting has the potential to improve sun protective habits among patients, which can in turn decrease the incidence of skin cancer.