Children¡¯s sun exposure and sun protection: Prevalence in Australia and related parental factors

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• 作者：Suzanne Dobbinson ; PhD^a ; ^{Suzanne.Dobbinson@cancervic.org.au} ; Melanie Wakefield ; PhD^a ; David Hill ; PhD^a ; Afaf Girgis ; PhD^b ; Joanne F. Aitken ; PhD^c ; Kerri Beckmann ; MPH^d ; Anthony I. Reeder ; PhD^e ; Natalie Herd ; BA & BSc (Hons)^a ; Matthew J. Spittal ; PhD^a ; Andrew Fairthorne ; LLB ; BSc^a ; Kelly-Ann Bowles ; BSc^a
• 关键词：skin cancer prevention ; sun protection ; sunburn
• 刊名：Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
• 出版年：2012
• 出版时间：June, 2012
• 年：2012
• 卷：66
• 期：6
• 页码：938-947
• 全文大小：143 K

文摘

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Background

Reducing childhood exposure to ultraviolet radiation is important to minimize lifetime skin cancer risk.

Objectives

We sought to describe the prevalence of children¡¯s sun-related behaviors and associated parental and other factors.

Methods

In weekly cross-sectional telephone interviews during summer, 1140 parents/guardians of children aged 0 to 11 years were recruited. Parents provided proxy reports for one of their children. Key questions related to weekend sun protection and sunburn, parent¡¯s sun-related attitudes, and demographic characteristics. Potential predictors of children¡¯s sun protection and sunburn were analyzed adjusting for covariates including weather conditions on the previous weekend.

Results

On summer weekends, 73 % of children spent longer than 15 minutes outdoors in peak ultraviolet radiation periods. Of these, 64 % were protected by a hat and 58 % by sun-protection factor 15 or higher sunscreen, 32 % stayed under shade, and 18 % wore three-quarter or long-sleeved tops. Overall, 8 % of children had sunburn. Parental attitudes were typically supportive of children¡¯s sun protection. Parental use of hats (odds ratio [OR] 3.1; 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.6-6.2), shade (OR 9.6; 95 % CI 4.4-20.8), sunscreen (OR 12.6; 95 % CI 5.2-30.4), longer leg cover (OR 10.3; 95 % CI 4.4-24.0), and two or more protective behaviors (OR 5.7; 95 % CI 2.8-11.9) increased the odds of their children practicing these behaviors, as did some parental attitudes.

Limitations

We relied on cross-sectional parent reports.

Conclusion

Although children¡¯s sun protection was favorable, there was room for improvement. Health promotion to improve sun-protection practices in adults may benefit children¡¯s sun-safe behaviors.