Sun Burn Incidence and Knowledge of Greek Elementary and High School Children about Sun Protection

Abstract

Introduction: Overexposure to sun radiation and particularly its accumulation during childhood and adolescence is a significant risk factor for skin cancer development. The sun burn is particularly important. Aim: To estimate sun burn incidence in young pupils in a coastal area of Greece. Materials and Methods: Two surveys were conducted in a school population in the same district in Greece, over different periods of time, in young people 9 to 18 years old (n=2 977). Anonymous questionnaires were completed. Levels of significance were twotailed and statistical significance was set at p=0.05. SPSS 17.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: From the individual characteristics of the participants it was shown that the majority of them had dark hair and fair skin, whereas a significant percentage reported the existence of moles on face and their body (83.4% vs 68.1%). The sun burn incidence was high in adolescents and the younger pupils (41.9% vs 55.6%). The younger aged children who were living in an urban area had significantly higher rates of sun burn than those living in semi-urban areas (33.8% vs 24.8%, p=0.020). As far as the knowledge of pupils about the risks of sun radiation it was shown that the elementary school pupils had better knowledge than those at high school. Finally, those with better knowledge had the fewer sun burns (Mean 2.83 SD 0.87, p<0.001). Conclusions: The contribution of knowledge to the decrease of sun burn incidence is important as long as this is continuous. Therefore, the education should concern not only children but also teachers and parents in the context of continuous and systematic programs of health education.

Predictors of Sun-Protective Practices among Iranian Female College Students: Application of Protection Motivation Theory

“…Al-Naggar also reported that Malaysian road traffic police officers had poor practice regarding application of sunscreen (Al-Naggar, 2013). Several studies showed greater practice in terms of skin cancer prevention than those observed in our study (Vries et al, 2005;Saridi et al, 2015). Therefore, there is a need to develop health education programs to train college students in the area of skin cancer and its preventive strategies.…”

The assessment of students’ knowledge regarding melanoma and sun-protection habits

“…Because of that, the next question in the survey was to obtain information on the frequency of experienced sunburn in the past, which is also a melanoma risk factor. The skin sensitivity in young age, as well as frequently spending time outdoors and the fact that children have less developed skin pigmentation and immune system, result in greater risk of developing melanoma in adulthood [8]. Even one episode of sunburn increases it about 1.5 to 3 times, while over 5 episodes increase it as much as 2 to 5 times [8].…”

“…The survey was shared with students from two Polish medical universities and with students from many more non-medical faculties at different universities in Poland. In total, 277 students responded: 111 (40%) from medical faculties (med), including medical (102 responders), dentistry (8) and pharmacy faculty (1), and 166 (60%) from non-medical faculties (n/med) including other sciences (not medicine-related) and humanities. They answered 17 questions, general and specific, regarding melanoma.…”

Effectiveness of Educational Practices in University Students’ Knowledge about Sun Protection and Its Relation to Sunlight Exposure: An Exploratory Study in a Portuguese Higher Education Institution

“…The questions of the learning survey were specifically designed for this study by a dermatologist doctor, based on their clinical background and on a literature review including scholarly articles, reviews and original research related to the affects of individual behaviors regarding sun exposure [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. It is an anonymous self-reported learning survey [ 8 , 9 , 12 , 14 , 15 ] to collect information about knowledge and practices concerning solar exposure from the students who have already attended the “Education for Health” curricular unit. The learning survey was distributed to twenty students from the same institution (not included in the study).…”

“…One of the most popular sun protection measures is the use of sunscreen. It has been demonstrated that deleterious effects on the skin from excessive sun exposure are cumulative [ 7 ] and it is estimated that six out of 10 cases of skin cancer are related to excessive sun exposure [ 8 ]. Non-melanoma skin cancer, and specifically basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the Caucasian race and scientific literature suggests that “the incidence of this type of cancer could be prevented if individuals adopted precautionary behaviors” [ 9 ] (p. 37).…”