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Report on Winter Sun Holiday: Beach

Location: Tenerife, Spain.

Dates: 27th February – 6th March 2010.

View ICEPURE Beach Study - Ground station sites in a larger map

This study looked at sun behaviour in two populations (Danes and Spanish) on a winter beach holiday. The study lasted one week.

All participants wore personal dosimeters which measured an individual’s level of exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) every few minutes. The participants answered a questionnaire and filled in daily diaries about their behaviour, what clothes they wore and how much sunscreen they applied.

Ambient levels of UVR were monitored by ground stations place at three locations (shown on maps above), on the roof and beside the pool at the holiday resort where the participants stayed and on the beach close to the resort.

Subjects

Selection criteria:
Participants were people who enjoyed sun exposure.
They also had to have no skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis and preferably be aged between 30 and 60.
The Danish participants had parents and grandparents from Denmark or other Scandinavian countries.
The Spanish participants had parents and grandparents from Spain.

Demographics
Danish participants     n=11 males and 14 females.   Age range: 29-51 years (mean 39.3, median 39)
Spanish participants   n=6 males and 12 females.   Age range: 27-62 years (mean 37.8 , median 33)

Progress of study

Study went very well though bad weather caused some problems. Unusually, for that time of year, Tenerife suffered from cloudy conditions and high winds. This hampered the study somewhat and caused major problems with calibrations of the dosimeters, particularly as the approaches to the observatory at Teide, where most of the calibrations were taking place, were closed for many days. Fortunately on the last day of the study there was very good weather and calibrations were able to be conducted under good conditions.

There were no major problems with collection of SunSaver data except for the odd instance, for example, participants accidentally jumping into the pool whilst wearing them.

Participants also wore GPS units during the study which gave good tracking data.

Participants generally enjoyed taking part in the study and there was good compliance by them in all aspects of the study.

We are expecting good data. This will be analyzed after all the SunSaver data has been calibrated for their individual correction factors. This will be done later this year.

Images from the study:

Most participants stayed at Hotel Compostela (picture below) with a few others staying at nearby hotels.

A lot of preparation was required to set up the study. Below are pictures of staff checking the SunSavers which would be used to monitor individual sun exposure. These were given to the volunteers along with GPS units on coloured straps to avoid confusion amongst themselves.

Ground station sensors and Sunsavers were initially checked by exposing them to sunlight at the Teide observatory (2390m).

Ground stations were set up on the hotel roof and beside the hotel pool.

Ground stations were also set up on the beach.

Participants filled in daily diaries on behaviour and had their skin measured for erythema (redness) and changes in pigmentation.

Peter Philipsen from BBH initializes some of the GPS units whilst two participants (with SunSavers) watch.

And finally the ICEPURE team after a long hard days work: