Prevalence and predictors of sunburn among beachgoers

Abstract

It is necessary to develop photoprotection campaigns aimed at beachgoers, particularly in young people, men, those with skin phototypes I-III and secondary or university education. Educational strategies should be aimed at discouraging sun exposure at midday, changing attitudes towards tanning and improving knowledge about skin cancer.

Awareness, behavior and attitudes concerning sun exposure among beachgoers in the northern coast of Peru

“…We found that more than 60% had suffered at least one sunburn in the last summer, a percentage higher than those reported in studies conducted in the US (Buller et al, 2011; Holman et al, 2014) and Europe (De Troya-Martín et al, 2018; Haluza et al, 2016; Kritsotakis et al, 2016). This may be due to the lack of education in the local population, which negatively affects their practices and habits regarding sun exposure.…”

“…This may be linked to the attitudes that, according to our study, were also better in women. In addition, this could explain why sunburns are more frequent in men, according to some studies (De Troya-Martín et al, 2018; Reuter et al, 2010; Kasparian, McLoone & Meiser, 2009).…”

“…However, a systematic review showed that some sun protection behaviors were positively associated with a good level of knowledge about skin cancer (Day et al, 2014). Also, a study conducted by De Troya-Martín et al (2018) reported an important role of knowledge about sun exposure in the prevention of sunburns.…”

“…We applied the “Beach Questionnaire”, validated by De Troya-Martín et al (2009) in a sample of Spanish beachgoers. This instrument aims to evaluate subjects’ behavior, attitudes and knowledge regarding sun exposure, and has been used in previous studies with similar populations (De Troya-Martín et al, 2014; De Troya-Martín et al, 2018). It has also been shown to be valid, reliable (Cronbach α > 0.7) and with good sensitivity to change (De Troya-Martín et al, 2009; Fernández-Morano et al, 2015).…”

“…The questionnaire included all our study variables and had the following sections: (1) Sociodemographic and academic data: sex, age, marital status, country of birth and educational level; (2) Color of non-sun-exposed skin: very fair, fair olive and dark; (3) Phototype: according to the Fitzpatrick model: I–IV, according to the erythema and tanning response after the first 60-min sun exposure in summer (De Troya-Martín et al, 2018); (4) Sun exposure habits on the beach in the last two summers: number of days spent at the beach each last two summers, number of hours per day and number of hours at midday (defined as between 12.00 and 16.00); (5) Sunburn history in the last summer (sunburn was defined as painful reddening of the skin) (De Troya-Martín et al, 2018); (6) Participants’ general knowledge about sun exposure with dichotomous response (true or false); (7) Attitudes related with sun exposure and sun protection, on a Likert-like scale of five categories (from “totally disagree” to “totally agree”) and (8) Sun protection practices.…”