Youth Access to Indoor Tanning Salons in Urban Versus Rural/Suburban Communities

Abstract

Research suggests that youth proximity to tanning salons may promote use, however little is known about tanning salon proximity to schools. We assessed the proximity of tanning salons to schools in urban versus rural/suburban communities across Worcester County, Massachusetts (population > 800K). To put findings in context, we compared school proximity to tanning salons to school proximity to McDonald's restaurants, a large franchise that also caters to young people. Accessibility was measured by ArcGIS 10.2 Network Analyzer (ESRI, Redlands, CA) and the most current road network data layer from Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). A total of 145 schools were observed in the study area, of which about 39% of schools were within 1 mile from a tanning salon. Urban schools (53.41%) had a higher proportion within 1 mile of a tanning salon than rural/suburban schools (17.54%; p < 0.001). More schools (39.31%) were within 1 mile of a tanning salon than schools within 1 mile of a McDonald's (22.70%; p < 0.001). Schools may be particularly impactful for implementing skin cancer prevention programming.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.