http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/services/Feed ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10669 Objectives: To describe the prevalence of solarium use among representative samples of Australian adolescents (12-17 years) and adults (18-69 years). Methods: In national surveys conducted in 2003/04 and 2006/07 using equivalent methods, n=11,509 Australian adolescents and adults self-reported their use of solaria. Results: In 2006/07 10.6% of adults had ‘ever’ used a solarium, and use was most prevalent among women aged 18 to 24 (17.1%) and 25 to 44 (20.7%). Few adolescents (2.5%) had ever used a solarium. The prevalence of past year use was much lower (0.6% of adolescents, 1.5% of adults) and there was a significant reduction among adults between surveys (OR=0.69, 95% CI=0.52–0.94). Adults’ attitudes related to past year solarium use were preference for a suntan (OR=4.68, 95% CI=2.48–8.85); perceived protan attitudes of peers (OR=2.10, 95% CI=1.17–3.77), belief that a suntan looks healthy (OR=1.92, 95% CI=1.09–3.39); and perceiving they have some risk of getting skin cancer (OR=1.69, 95% CI=1.03–2.78). Conclusions and implications: Although solarium use in Australia is relatively low, it is highest among young adult women. These data show encouraging downward trends in use, and provide a foundation for monitoring the impact of forthcoming regulatory changes to the solarium industry. 2012-04-18T05:36:22.848Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:442 This study aimed to explore compliance with international recommendations on solaria use in a unregulated setting. Simulated customers visited 176 solaria operating in Australia and two face-to-face visits and one telephone contact were made for each establishment. From the survey, establishments compliant with the recommendations ranged from: 1.1 % refusing access to the customer with skin type I; 9.7 % recommending to the customer with skin type I against solaria use and up to 87.5 % assessing skin type and recommending eye protection. Few (15.9 %) were compliant with more than 10 of the 13 recommendations. Establishment type and number of sunbeds were significantly associated with compliance. This study has shown that a much higher level of compliance with recommendations, particularly those excluding higher-risk groups, is required to reduce the harm associated with use of solaria. While new legislation may be useful, other harm minimisation strategies including mandatory staff training and taxation should be considered. 2010-04-27T05:43:06.505Z ]]>