- 14-18-year-old rugby league players participated in sunscreen use study
- Young adult competitive sport players have report high rates of sunburn
- UV-detection sticker on exposed skin turns purple to indicate sunscreen should be applied
- Young players responded to wearing a sticker with an increase in sunscreen use
QUT public health researcher Dr Elke Hacker, from the Faculty of Health’s School of Public Health and Social Work studied the response of 550 young rugby league players at the Adrian Vowles Cup, a two-day carnival in Charleville, to wearing a sticker that changes colour when more sunscreen should be applied to keep skin safe from sun exposure.
The UV-detection stickers use UV sensitive dyes and a patented technology called dermatrue™ that absorbs sunscreen, just like skin does. Wearers put them on skin exposed to the sun and apply sunscreen over the sticker along with the rest of the body part being protected.
