Adaption of the Skin Sun Sensitivity Scale

Determining Fitzpatrick skin phototypes (FST) allows physicians to assess a person's risk of developing sunburn, and thus the need for sun protection to prevent the development of skin cancer. Reflectance spectrophotometry objectively measures the melanin index (MI) and can assist in determining the accuracy of self-reported FST compared with dermatologist-determined FST. At present, we seek to determine the accuracy of an adapted Skin Sun Sensitivity Scale for individuals of all pigmentation varieties (FST I through VI) as compared with spectrophotometric measurements assessing FST. Our principal objective is to correlate the MI under usual conditions by spectrophotometry with the adapted Fitzpatrick SPT as determined by the patients' responses to the adapted questionnaire.