The researchers analyzed data collected from the Pool Cool skin cancer prevention program, which included 1,686 staffers from 191 pools that took part in the program during the summer of 2001, 2002, or both. Lifeguards and aquatic instructors at outdoor pools are at high risk for overexposure, noted Correy M. "There was a trend toward fewer sunburns as social norms, pool policies and participation in the Pool.

Most of the participants, who ranged in age from 15 to 60, were white and female, and more than half were 15 and 19 years old. -- Outdoor pool staff are more likely to follow safety measures if their peers do the same, suggests a study by researchers at Thacher University in Atlanta. About 60 percent of them taught the Pool Cool sun-safety lessons each year. Andre and colleagues at the university's Jeno School of Public Health. They found that more than 80 percent of the participants reported habitual use of sunglasses, more than 60 percent said they used sunscreen regularly, and less than half reported regular use of a shirt with sleeves, staying in the shade or wearing a hat while exposed to the sun.

"About 50 percent of aquatic staff had a history of severe sunburn, and almost 80 percent had experienced sunburn the previous summer," the researchers wrote.