Understanding the perception of sunscreen utility in African Americans.

Dyschromia is a top diagnosis among African Americans (AA). Sunscreen is an essential part of its management, but AA have low sunscreen use. We sought to examine the perception of sunscreen utility in dyschromia and photoaging among patients who identify as AA or Black. This cross-sectional study recruited participants from the Case Western Reserve University Academic Dental Clinic. Participants completed an electronic survey that contained questions related to sunscreen use, knowledge of the sun's role in hyperpigmentation and photoaging, and whether sunscreen could be used for hyperpigmentation and photoaging. Of the 151 participants recruited, 63.6% (n = 96) were women and 36.4% (n = 57) were men. Consistent with previous reports, participants had lower sunscreen use (20.5%) than whites (43.5%). The majority of participants (80.1% and 58.3%, respectively) didn't attribute the sun to hyperpigmentation or photoaging. Participants with dark/brown spots were significantly more likely to not attribute the sun to hyperpigmentation than those without spots. (p = 0.003) Limitations for this study include its small sample size, recall and reporter bias, question misinterpretation, and lack of question neutrality. This study highlights the knowledge gap of a major contributing factor to dyschromia which in turn could be leading to their view of the decreased utility of sunscreen.

Identifying sunscreen deserts in Cuyahoga County.

Low sunscreen use in patients of color (POC) is multifactorial and could be partially attributable to lack of access or the lack of knowledge about its use beyond skin cancer prevention. Dyschromia is among the top diagnoses for POC and sunscreen is first-line management. POC and lower socioeconomic status often face health disparities and are susceptible to having difficulty accessing food, health care, and medication. We look to see if they extend to sunscreen access by evaluating physical retailers. This study investigated sunscreen access by identifying potential sunscreen deserts and characterizing sunscreen availability and affordability in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Sunscreen deserts were defined as census tracts that were both low-income and low-access, adapted from the definition of food deserts. Google Maps search of "sunscreen" and "sunscreen store" in Cuyahoga County identified sunscreen retailers to geocode addresses. Total number and average cost of sunscreens were collected for each retailer and compared by community type. Fisher exact test, analysis of variance, and logistic regression were used for analysis. One hundred forty-six retailers were included in analysis of four hundred twenty-one census tracts in the county. Sixty-seven tracts met the definition of sunscreen desert. Majority White tracts were less likely to be deserts and had more sunscreen formulations, than Majority Black tracts (p < 0.001). The majority of sunscreen deserts were in predominantly black communities, which had fewer stores and sunscreen formulations available. These findings indicate a lack of sunscreen available to a demographic of patients that could benefit from increased access, as it would help manage hyperpigmentation.