title: Using behavioral economics to promote healthy behavior toward sun exposure in adolescents and young adults.
abstract: Skin cancer represents an important public health problem, and it is associated with ultraviolet radiation exposure, particularly at early ages. Unhealthy sun exposure and intentional tanning continue to be the trend among young people. Multiple interventions to raise awareness of the risks of sun exposure have been implemented, without necessarily translating into decreased unhealthy behaviors or skin cancer incidence rates. Behavioral economics adds a set of concepts and tools to potentially boost the efficacy of existing approaches to decrease unhealthy sun exposure. This paper reviews public health interventions that have been based in behavioral economics concepts and their results, and provides examples of new and creative ways physicians and health professionals can actively apply insights from behavioral economics to counsel teenagers and young adults about skin cancer prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, National Institute of Pediatrics, Mexico City, Mexico. Electronic address: mtgr@mail.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Maria T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: García-Romero
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States; Melanoma Epidemiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Alan C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Geller
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kawachi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D060909:Economics, Behavioral; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000517:prevention & control; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055108:Sunbathing / Q000523:psychology; D013471:Sunburn / Q000517:prevention & control; D013473:Sunscreening Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055107:Suntan; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D013473:Sunscreening Agents
keywords: Adolescents; Behavioral economics; Skin cancer; Skin neoplasms; Ultraviolet rays