Children’s sunburn exposed: Identification of sun exposure and parental sun protection patterns

Abstract

2AbstractBackground: Preventing sunburn in childhood is imperative in the light of skin cancer prevention. To provide directions for targeted interventions, a better understanding of children’s sunburn and associated parental behaviours is necessary.Objective: To explore sun exposure and parent-for-child sun protection patterns and their relation with experienced sunburn in children.Materials & Methods: An online survey study was conducted among parents (n=1299) of children (4 to 12 years). Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was performed to identify parental subgroups in children’s sunburn, sun exposure and several sun protection behaviours (i.e. applying sunscreen, clothing, seeking shade) in two sun exposure settings (i.e. planned versus incidental). LCA results were validated by assessing predictions of class membership through several socio-demographic characteristics.Results: Reported sunburn in the previous year was frequent (>40%). Four latent classes of sunburn-exposure-protection were identified. Overall, the majority of parents reported fair sun protection behaviours. While lower protection behaviours were not strongly reflected in lower sunburn rates among the classes, high amounts of planned exposure (e.g. going to the beach) seemed to correspond with higher sunburn risk. Parents of younger children and those with more sensitive skin, reported sun protection measures more frequently. Older children and those with more sensitive skin experienced more sunburn.Conclusion: This study contributes to current insight in children’s sunburn, based on parent-proxy reports. Although a clear differentiation in sunburn risk was not found, several groups relevant for future interventions were indicated. By revealing the complexity of children’s sunburn, suggestions for further research are provided.

Foto Protección, una Estrategia Terapéutica y Preventiva Contra el Foto envejecimiento y Cáncer de Piel

“…Existe una asociación entre la conciencia de los factores de riesgo de cáncer entre los adolescentes y el desarrollo de conductas protectoras de la salud que pueden sentar las bases para una edad adulta saludable, sin embargo, los comportamientos de protección en esta etapa de la vida son generalmente deficientes. (Garnacho Saucedo et al, 2020;McDonald et al, 2023;Symanzik et al, 2022;Thoonen et al, 2023) .…”

“…El cáncer de piel se considera una enfermedad multifactorial, sin embargo la principal causa externa más importante es la exposición excesiva y sin protección a los rayos ultravioleta. (Symanzik et al, 2022;Thoonen et al, 2023) El mayor riesgo incluye quemaduras solares de por vida, uso de camas solares y estar bronceado, vacaciones en climas solares y actividades recreativas. (Lagacé et al, 2023).…”

“…10435 paciente, la protección solar, exámenes de detección y salud pública. (Alonso Belmonte et al, 2022;Lagacé et al, 2023;Rueegg et al, 2019;Symanzik et al, 2022;Thoonen et al, 2023).…”

“…Los factores de riesgo del cáncer de piel incluyen la exposición sin protección a rayos ultravioleta o las lámparas UV, antecedentes de varias quemaduras solares y piel sensible. (Hyeraci et al, 2023;Thoonen et al, 2023).…”

“…Cubrir la piel con ropa se ha propuesto como una importante estrategia de protección solar, podría ser más eficaz que el uso de sombrero o protector solar para prevenir el daño en la piel. (Thoonen et al, 2023).…”