Making the invisible visible: motivating young adults to protect their skin

Research behind the skin cancer prevention campaign, If You Could See UV, found that evoking fear of ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure – through a visually striking metaphor – helped motivate young adults to protect their skin.

By visualising UV as something immediate and ever-present the campaign aimed to prompt young adults to think and feel differently about everyday sun exposure – and to take practical steps to protect themselves.

A paper about the development and evaluation of the Cancer Institute NSW’s 2023-24 campaign has been published in the Sax Institute’s Public Health Research and Practice journal.

Turning an invisible risk into a visible threat

Melanoma is one of the most common cancers affecting young adults in Australia, and more than 97% of cases in Australia and New Zealand are caused by UV radiation exposure. However, many young adults underestimate how often they are exposed to UV – particularly during everyday activities such as walking to work or to the shops or sitting near windows.

Lead author Philippa Maynard, Senior Research and Evaluation Officer at Cancer Institute NSW said insights from the target audience revealed a need to highlight the immediate harm of UV across diverse settings.  

“Our research found that young adults with skin types that are more susceptible to skin cancer tend to think about sun protection during planned activities outdoors, like going to the beach, but not during everyday incidental exposure,” Ms Maynard said.

The campaign depicted UV radiation as arrows descending from the sky to highlight that exposure occurs during incidental time outdoors, even on cool and overcast days.

“We found that the arrows evoked a fear response and that this increased motivation to use sun protection behaviours.”

Campaign recognition linked to stronger protective intentions

The 2023/2024 campaign evaluation found:

• 55% of young adults recognised at least one element of the campaign
• 31% recognised the main video advertisement

Those who recognised the campaign were significantly more likely than those who did not to:

• feel concerned about developing melanoma (74% compared to 64%)
• intend to wear a hat (72% compared to 65%)
• intend to wear a wide-brimmed hat (32% compared to 22%)
• intend to wear protective clothing (64% compared to 57%)

The research found that balancing credible risk messaging and imagery with clear, achievable sun protection behaviours was critical.

Imagery perceived as overly confronting reduced effectiveness, while depictions that paired visible UV exposure with practical protection – such as arrows deflecting off clothing and hats – strengthened motivation.

Evidence-based campaign design

The campaign was developed through multiple rounds of research, and has been evaluated with 18–24-year-olds in NSW.

It was grounded in established behavioural science frameworks that show people are more likely to adopt protective behaviours when they:

• understand their personal susceptibility
• perceive a threat as credible
• believe the recommended actions are effective
• feel confident they can carry them out

Ms Maynard said public health messaging needs to strike a careful balance.

“Effective prevention campaigns need to communicate risk simply and credibly, and also empower people with practical, achievable actions,” she said.

The authors say the findings provide valuable insights for the development and evaluation of future public health campaigns seeking to address preventable risk factors among young audiences.