Sunscreen use is recommended for the prevention of sunburn and skin cancer. Little is known regarding sunscreen availability in high versus low income communities. We analyzed sunscreen availability in three large metropolitan counties to determine the relationship between availability and community demographics. We included sun care products in all pharmacies and supermarkets open as of July 2013 in representative high and low income zip codes in Cook County, Illinois, Miami-Dade County, Florida, and San Diego County, California. We recorded the percentage of tanning oil, sunscreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) < 15, SPF > 15, physical sunscreens, spray sunscreens, mean price per ounce (PPO), and mean SPF. Of the total products assessed, 11.0% were tanning oils, with physical sunscreens accounting for only 3.4% of the available sunscreens and 46.2% of sunscreens being spray-on. A comparison between higher and lower income zip codes demonstrated a significantly increased percentage of sunscreens with SPF < 15 in high income zip codes. Lower income zip codes had higher percentages of sunscreens with SPF > 15 and higher PPO, even when taking into account SPF. Further studies of sunscreen usage patterns in different populations must take into account sunscreen availability and price, as these significantly differ based on the community demographic.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
4
13%
Medicine and Dentistry
4
13%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
3
9%
Environmental Science
1
3%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
1
3%
Other
4
13%
Unknown
15
47%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 11. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 14 July 2025.
All research outputs
#3,519,428
of 28,860,665 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Skin Cancer
#15
of 98 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#30,921
of 247,070 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Skin Cancer
#1
of 1 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 28,860,665 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 87th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 98 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 13.0. This one has done well, scoring higher than 83% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 247,070 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 87% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 1 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them
