From Awareness to Access: Extending University Campus Photoprotection Beyond Free Sunscreen Dispensers

Free sunscreen dispensers are a promising strategy for skin cancer prevention on university campuses, but access alone may not ensure use. Myers et al. reported that among students, faculty, and staff at a university with ten free sunscreen dispensers, 35.5% had noticed a dispenser and 22.7% had used one, with visibility, reliance on personal sunscreen, and product texture identified as barriers. This correspondence argues that campus photoprotection should be approached as a combined access-and-education problem. Recent evidence demonstrates substantial variation in the financial burden of recommended sunscreen use, persistent cultural and behavioral disparities in sun protection, and encouraging implementation outcomes when campus sunscreen access is paired with educational and digital messaging. Universities offer a practical setting in which to test multimodal skin cancer prevention strategies. Future evaluations should measure sustained dispenser use, placement and visibility, product acceptability, socioeconomic reach, and whether educational exposure and free access together produce durable changes in photoprotective behavior.