Pool Cool

Pool Cool is a sun-safety education program especially designed for use at swimming pools. Its main objective is to increase awareness, motivation, and sun protection practices among children ages 5-10 who take swimming lessons, their parents, aquatics staff, and other pool users. The Pool Cool program has been evaluated in several studies, and the name Pool Cool has been used for multiple research projects. The program teaches children about the dangers of sun exposure and encourages the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits (application and re-application of sunscreen, covering skin when possible, staying out of the sun during peak hours).

Lifeguards and pool staff are trained on an eight-lesson curriculum which they then administer during their swim lessons. The education program also includes interactive activities on sun protection for the children and parents to complete together. The lessons are taught in conjunction with regular swimming lessons. There are 8 lessons total, each taking no more than 5 minutes at the start of swim class. The program also contains 5 additional sun-safe Poolside Activities that can be conducted with kids when there is more free time available.

The last component of the program are the "Pool Cool" branded signage, sunscreen dispensers and shade structures to create sun-safe area at the pool that foster the message of the program.

This program was previously run through the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

The main objective of Pool Cool is to increase awareness, motivation, and sun protection practices among children ages 5-10 who take swimming lessons.

The Pool Cool program had significant positive effects on children's use of sunscreen and overall sun-protection habits at swimming pools.

Through a cluster randomized controlled trial, the Pool Cool Program was compared with an injury prevention program that utilized the same format in 28 swimming pools in Hawaii and Massachusetts. Parents of children who received the Pool Cool intervention reported significantly higher use of sunscreen, shade, and higher composite sun protection habits scores for their children at follow-up than parents of children who received the injury prevention intervention (p<0.05). The sun protection habit score measured five protective behaviors (using sunscreen, wearing a hat, wearing a shirt, seeking shade, and wearing sunglasses) on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (rarely/never) to 4 (always).