Association of Demographic and Hospital Characteristics with Emergency Department Visits Due to Sunburn

The study, using data from the National Emergency Department Sample from 2013-2015, analyzed 82,048 emergency department (ED) visits for sunburn in the United States and found that these visits were most prevalent and costly during the summer months. Lower-income men, particularly younger ones, were more likely to visit the ED for severe sunburns, with a higher incidence of visits in the South, on weekends, and in the summer. Older patients and those treated at metropolitan non-teaching hospitals faced higher costs of care. These results suggest the importance of developing targeted prevention and management strategies for sunburn to reduce the burden on EDs.