Evaluation of Behavior of Sun Protection in University Students and Staff: Face-to-face Survey Study

Abstract

Objective: We aims of our study are as follows: 1) to determine the data and socio-demographic characteristics related to sun protective behavior during the summer months in the population who came for education and work from every region of the country, 2) to compare sun protective behaviors and intentional sun exposure factors in the highly educated population (college graduate or university students) as well as intentional sun exposure factors. We intend to reflect in this study the use of sunscreen cream and the knowledge and behavior about sun protection methods of the students of University (SU) and hospital personnel working in University Faculty of Medicine Research and Training Hospital(SURTH). Material and methods: The study was held on the subjects consisting of student and staff volunteers of SU and SURTH. One thousand three hundred eighty-nine (69.2%) of these volunteers were students in SU, 616 (30.7%) of them were staff working in SURTH. Results The study was conducted on 2005 individuals with face-to-face interviews. Of the participants, 53.4% (n = 1070) were male and 46.6% (n = 935) were female. Conclusion The incidence of malignant melanoma and other skin cancers is increasing. We believe that the researches and warnings were still inadequate on these issues. The behaviors of protection from the sun were not caused because they want to be healthy, they were caused to avoid the inconvenience due to the sun while driving and playing sports.

Keywords

• davranış; güneşten korunma; güneş koruyucu
• behavior; sun protection; sunscreen