Primary school children's awareness of sun protection

Abstract

The risk of skin cancer can be substantially decreased if exposure to the sun's ultraviolet light during childhood is reduced. Children need to be educated about the sun's harmful effects on the skin and on the best ways to protect themselves. This led the student researcher to carry out a small scale study to investigate the knowledge, behaviour and attitudes related to sun exposure amongst primary school students. A total of 30 students attending 5 year classes in a primary school were surveyed using a self- administered structured questionnaire, and mainly quantitative data was obtained. An average level of sun awareness amongst the participants was found. However misconceptions, particularly about suntan and sun protection on cloudy days, were still identified. Despite their level of knowledge, students were still being exposed to the sun and were not adequately protecting themselves. The pupils in the study also had a high personal perceived susceptibility to skin problems, except for skin ageing, yet peer judgement and the issue of sun tan "benefits" were still present. These factors may have an impact on the inadequate sun protection practiced by the children. From the data collected recommendations for research and for further studies were tentatively drawn.