TY - JOUR
T1 - Schoolyard Shade and Sun Exposure
T2 - Assessment of Personal Monitoring During Children's Physical Activity
AU - Vanos, Jennifer K.
AU - McKercher, Grant R.
AU - Naughton, Kylie
AU - Lochbaum, Marc
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Ervin Elementary School in Lubbock Texas for their wonderful support and cooperation, the East Lubbock Promised Neighborhoods Grant for funding the after-school program, and students Kelly Neely, Alexandria Herdt, Ricardo Zazo, and Stephen Rios for their help with field work. Also, to Breanna McKercher of the Texas Tech Climate Science Center for helping to develop the supporting information video using her pictures and videos. Additionally, to Zim Sherman and Martin Allen for their help and guidance with the dosimeter usage, results, and data interpretation. Finally, we would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their extremely helpful comments in strengthening the paper. The after-school program and Polar heart rate sensors in this study were funded by a five-year research grant from the U.S. Department of Education “East Lubbock Promise Neighborhood” grant (PI Ridley, Co-PI Lochbaum; Proposal no. 10009047). The microclimate research equipment and dosimeters were purchased through Texas Tech University.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The American Society of Photobiology
PY - 2017/7/1
Y1 - 2017/7/1
N2 - Childhood exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a major risk factor for the development of melanoma later in life. However, it is challenging to accurately determine personal outdoor exposure to UVR, specifically erythemally weighted UVR (UVE ry), due to technological constraints, variable time–activity patterns, and the influence of outdoor environmental design. To address this challenge, this study utilized mobile and stationary techniques to examine the UVE ry exposures of 14 children in a schoolyard in Lubbock, TX, in spring 2016. The aims of the study were to examine the influence of artificial shade on personal UVE ry exposures and to assess full sun exposure ratios (ERs) within the same playground microenvironment. On average, personal wrist dosimeters worn during play in the sun measured 18% of the total onsite UVE ry measured by a stationary UV pyranometer. Shade was found to significantly reduce the personal UVE ry exposures by 55%, UVB280–315 nm exposures by 91%, and the overall solar radiation by 84%. Substantial benefits can be garnered through focused design of children's recreational space to utilize shade—both natural and artificial—to reduce UVR exposures during play, and to extend safe outdoor stays. Finally, although the wrist is a practical location for a dosimeter, it often underestimates full exposures, particularly during physical activity.
AB - Childhood exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a major risk factor for the development of melanoma later in life. However, it is challenging to accurately determine personal outdoor exposure to UVR, specifically erythemally weighted UVR (UVE ry), due to technological constraints, variable time–activity patterns, and the influence of outdoor environmental design. To address this challenge, this study utilized mobile and stationary techniques to examine the UVE ry exposures of 14 children in a schoolyard in Lubbock, TX, in spring 2016. The aims of the study were to examine the influence of artificial shade on personal UVE ry exposures and to assess full sun exposure ratios (ERs) within the same playground microenvironment. On average, personal wrist dosimeters worn during play in the sun measured 18% of the total onsite UVE ry measured by a stationary UV pyranometer. Shade was found to significantly reduce the personal UVE ry exposures by 55%, UVB280–315 nm exposures by 91%, and the overall solar radiation by 84%. Substantial benefits can be garnered through focused design of children's recreational space to utilize shade—both natural and artificial—to reduce UVR exposures during play, and to extend safe outdoor stays. Finally, although the wrist is a practical location for a dosimeter, it often underestimates full exposures, particularly during physical activity.
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U2 - 10.1111/php.12721
DO - 10.1111/php.12721
M3 - Article
C2 - 28097673
AN - SCOPUS:85021748910
SN - 0031-8655
VL - 93
SP - 1123
EP - 1132
JO - Photochemistry and photobiology
JF - Photochemistry and photobiology
IS - 4
ER -