Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TURKDERM-TURKISH ARCHIVES OF DERMATOLOGY AND VENEROLOGY, sa.4, ss.178-183, 2021 (ESCI)
Background and Design: Sunlight exposure during childhood is one of the main risk factors for skin cancer in adulthood. Therefore, one primary strategy to prevent skin cancer is to protect children from ultraviolet (UV) light. This study aimed to assess the risk level, perceptions, and knowledge level of skin cancer and the associated factors in parents of kindergarteners, as well as determine sun protection behaviors for both parents and their children. Materials and Methods: This was designed as a cross-sectional study, and data were collected from the parents of children at 10 kindergartens associated with the District National Education Directorate. Parents of 1,147 students participated in the study. Results: The Skin Cancer and Sun Knowledge Scale mean score of parents was 13.01 +/- 3.43 (range: 0-25) and the Sun Protection Behavior Scale mean score was 25.46 +/- 5.73 (range: 8-40). The sun protection behaviors that were least preferred by parents for their children were protective clothes (37.3%) and sun protection products (29.0%). The most common protection behaviors of parents involved making their child wear a hat (25.2%) and stay in the shade (22.0%). Sun protection behaviors of children were affected by the child's age, gender, skin type, time spent in sunlight during summer, formation of sunburn during the last year, having a medical examination for skin, and skin cancer risk perception (p<0.05). Conclusion: The parents' knowledge about skin cancer and sun protection as well as sun protection for themselves and their children was moderate. Behaviors of parents are very important to decrease the exposure of children to UV light and reduce skin cancer incidence. Thus, improving parental behaviors is an important strategy.