Pierre Fabre Laboratories' patient and consumer relations department has unveiled new results from its Sun Assessment Family Experience (Safe) program.
Launched in 2021, this program aims to better understand the reasons for poor compliance with sun prevention instructions. It is based on the "All" project, the largest international dermatology database.
More than 50,000 people, from adult populations in 20 countries on five continents (representing 50 % of the world's population), responded to the questionnaires.
According to the study, a very large majority (95 %) of those surveyed understand the messages, but only one in five actually respects them.
Only a quarter (24 %) of participants regularly apply sunscreen every two hours. Of those who don't, 76 % cite forgetfulness, the tediousness of application, or the cost of sunscreen products.
Young people are the most exposed
"Despite repeated awareness campaigns and clear messages about the dangers of the sun, young people seem unaware of the consequences of their sun exposure. The new study2 , conducted as part of our Safe program, shows that more than half of the young people surveyed (54 %) expose themselves to the sun during the most dangerous hours, from 10am to 4pm."explains Dr Marketa Saint Aroman, Medical and Patient Centricity Director at Pierre Fabre.
According to the World Health Organization, skin cancer is one of the three most common cancers among young people.
Avoid sunburn and skin aging
Young people's motivations when it comes to sun protection are also a cause for concern. Although 53 % of them want to avoid sunburn, only 21 % consider skin cancer prevention a priority.
Accelerated skin aging is a concern for 40 % of the young people surveyed.
According to Pierre Fabre, it's essential to remember that skin cancer is a serious reality, and that two-thirds of cases are directly linked to excessive exposure to the sun.
Renewal of sunscreen application decreases with age
The prevalence of sunscreen application every two hours was highest in the 16-34 age group (27 %), but decreased progressively with age (25 % for 35-54 year-olds and 12 % for over-55s).
MySun Students Voices
On the basis of this study, Pierre Fabre Laboratories asked young adults to come up with new ways of communicating sun protection.
The "MySun Students Voices" project run in partnership with France Asso Cancer and students from the Iseg communications and e-Artsup visual design schools in Nantes (one of the regions most affected by melanoma) won an award at the Festival de la Communication in Deauville in March 2024.
Some 120 students finally took part, proposing new approaches to sun prevention. Their proposals include a vocabulary better adapted to their target audience, approaches that make some of them more responsible, such as the "sam" of anti-alcohol campaigns, educational challenges, and tools for cleverly monitoring their sun exposure. All their proposals have been shared with the France Asso Cancer et Peau association, which has already chosen to implement one of them on its own behalf.
"Melanoma is a visible cancer, and we can do something about it before we get to the heavy diagnoses that often leave families stunned. But to do that, we need to know the risk. This wonderful initiative finally enables us to communicate with young people using their words and their tools: a campaign for young people, built by young people! stresses Pascale Benaksas, president of the association.
Pierre Fabre teams have extended this approach to Europe, working with students in Spain and Germany. All their feedback is shared with the general public and patient associations on the www.mysun.skin page.
In partnership with Si Health, a company specializing in this field, and again in conjunction with students and several patient associations, an application will be set up this summer to monitor individual sun exposure.
