Our achievements
SunSmart's investment in prevention brings considerable human and economic benefits across Australia. The program is extremely cost effective with a $2.30 net saving for every dollar spent and rated the second most cost effective and health saving intervention by the Victorian Department of Treasury.
This has been reinforced by the recently launched Assessing Cost-Effectiveness of Prevention report, which identified an intensive SunSmart campaign as one of a handful of cost-effective interventions for the future that would have a large impact on Australia's health.
30 years of commitment and partnerships with VicHealth, government, key partners and community agencies has seen huge changes in social norms and health including:
- Downward trends in skin cancer rates, especially in the under 40-age group who have grown up with SunSmart. The program is estimated to have averted 28,000 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), equivalent to 22,000 life-years saved since its introduction in 1988 (Victorian only data).
- Increased use of hats and sunscreens, reductions in sunburn and a decrease in people's desire for a tan.
- SunSmart has been instrumental in positioning Victoria as a national leader in solarium legislation. Subsequently, there has been a 56% drop in the number of solarium sites in Victoria since solarium legislation was introduced.
- The SunSmart primary school program, which provides schools with sun protection guidelines, policy and curriculum resources, has grown substantially with participation rates increasing from 2% in the 1960s to close to 90% today – one of the highest participation rates of any public health program in Australia, reaching approximately 440,000 Victorian school children.
- Reported shade provision has increased from 6% (of early childhood services in 1988) to 98% of services in 2008.
- In the workplace, the SunSmart message has reached at least 25,000 participants and significantly improved workers' knowledge about sun exposure as a work place hazard and how to protect themselves from the sun.
- In 2004 Cancer Council Victoria became the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for UV Radiation due to its international leadership in this area.
To find out more, go to Cancer Council Victoria's website page on evaluation and behavioural research in skin cancer.
The next two decades...
Over the next 20 years, SunSmart will strive to influence lifestyles, behaviours and environments to ensure a balanced approach to UV exposure in Victoria. Going forward, over the next two decades across Australia, we will aim to:
- prevent 1,900 premature deaths
- reduce the number of cases of melanoma by 20,000
- reduce non-melanoma skin cancer by 49,000.
Also refer to:
- Skin cancer prevention [pdf 1.67M]: a bluechip investment in Victoria
- SunSmart program 2003–2006 [pdf 517K]: includes information on skin cancer research
- SunSmart: 20 years on [pdf 1.16M]: a review of the effectiveness of SunSmart
