Parks and Recreation - Protect Your Visitors and Staff from Skin Cancer
Nearly 5 million people are treated for skin cancer each year in the United States, at an estimated annual cost of $8.1 billion. Skin cancer can be serious, expensive, and sometimes even deadly. Skin cancer cases continue to increase in the US. Fortunately, most skin cancers can be prevented.
Visitors and staff of outdoor recreational areas are at risk of getting too much sun exposure for many reasons. For example:
+ Visitors and staff often spend long hours outdoors in the sun.
+ Reflection from sand, water, or snow can increase total sun exposure.
+ It’s easy to forget about sun protection during fun outdoor activities.
Outdoor recreational areas promote health, wellness, and a sense of community. Protect your staff and help guests enjoy their time outdoors safely. Make sun protection the easy choice.
Encourage Visitors and Staff to Use Sun Protection
+Create and enforce policies for sun protection by staff.
+Encourage recreation instructors and staff to teach and model sun safety behaviors.
+Post signs that remind visitors to protect themselves by using sun-safety strategies that work.
+Provide breaks during activities to give participants and staff time to reapply sunscreen.
+Provide broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher, and post instructions for proper use.
