Preventable sunburns sending Aussies and Kiwis to hospital

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-05-13 01:00

Australia; New Zealand; NSW; VIC

More than 160 people in Australia and New Zealand have been sent to burn services after spending too long in the sun over the past decade. Nearly all of them were scorched while doing a leisure activity or sleeping in the sun, and while many burns were superficial, six patients had third-degree full-thickness burns. The researchers say it's concerning how many people are being admitted to burn services - with a median hospital stay of 3 days - for an easily preventable injury.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Dermatology

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Children's Hospital at Westmead, Monash University

Funder: The Burns Registry of Australia and New Zealand (BRANZ) has received funding from the Australian and New Zealand Burn Association, Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (2008-2009), Julian Burton Burns Trust (2008-2013), Helen Macpherson Smith Trust (2010-2012), Thyne Reid Foundation (2011-2013), Australasian Foundation for Plastic Surgery (2013-2017), New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation (2013-2020), Clipsal by Schnieder Electric National Community Grants Program (2017), and HCF Research Foundation (2018-2019). Individual burn services also contribute funding to the BRANZ to ensure its ongoing sustainability. Prof Gabbe was supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT170100048) during the preparation of this manuscript.

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