Saridi M, Pappa V, Kyriazis I, Toska A, Giolis A, Liachapoulou A, Skliros E, Birbas K
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Rural Remote Health. 2009 Oct-Dec;9(4):1162.
Extended sun exposure may lead to serious health problems, and evidence of this is in the increase in skin cancer and malignant melanoma worldwide. Extended sun exposure during childhood or adolescence increases the probability of skin cancer in adulthood. The aim of the study was to identify and examine the knowledge, attitude, behaviour and beliefs of Greek adolescents (high school students) related to sun exposure and its adverse effects on health. The majority of participants (89.7%) were of Greek nationality.
The study took place in 5 schools in the prefecture of Korinthos, and 816 of the total 925 students aged 15-18 years participated. The questionnaire was pilot tested and assessed for validity and reliability, both of which were adequate (Cronbach's alpha = 0.70 and r(s) = 0.78); SPSS 13.0 software was used for analysis.
Only 37.9% of participants knew that melanoma was a type of skin cancer; 50% said they did not know what melanoma was. Regarding behavior, 35.5% reported that during the last summer they went to the beach on 20 to 50 occasions, and only 50% reported that they wore a sunhat or stayed in the shade. The frequency of sunscreen use was alarmingly low, with the majority of the adolescents unfamiliar with its proper use, and 50% not using a sunscreen with sufficient sun protection factor. Television was an important source of information about protection from sun exposure, while the family was the most important provider of advice.
Participants' knowledge of sun exposure was insufficient and they reported risky behaviours in the summer months. Despite health promotion and community education programs focusing on sun smart strategies, these young people still associated suntans with beauty. Health promotion and education programs need to challenge such beliefs. However, as a sole approach to health promotion, teaching protective measures and appropriate ways for youth to protect themselves against the harmful effects of sunbathing may be insufficient to reduce the epidemic of skin cancer.
长时间暴露于阳光下可能会导致严重的健康问题，全球皮肤癌和恶性黑色素瘤发病率的上升就是这一现象的证据。儿童期或青少年期长时间暴露于阳光下会增加成年后患皮肤癌的几率。本研究的目的是确定并调查希腊青少年（高中生）关于阳光暴露及其对健康的不良影响的知识、态度、行为和信念。大多数参与者（89.7%）为希腊国籍。
该研究在科林索斯州的5所学校开展，15至18岁的925名学生中共有816人参与。问卷进行了预测试，并对其有效性和可靠性进行了评估，二者均足够（克朗巴哈系数α = 0.70，斯皮尔曼相关系数r(s) = 0.78）；使用SPSS 13.0软件进行分析。
只有37.9%的参与者知道黑色素瘤是一种皮肤癌；50%的人表示他们不知道什么是黑色素瘤。关于行为方面，35.5%的人报告称在上个夏天他们去海滩20至50次，只有50%的人报告称他们戴了太阳帽或待在阴凉处。防晒霜的使用频率低得惊人，大多数青少年不熟悉其正确用法，50%的人没有使用防晒系数足够的防晒霜。电视是关于防晒的重要信息来源，而家庭是最重要的建议提供者。
参与者关于阳光暴露的知识不足，并且他们报告了在夏季的危险行为。尽管有侧重于明智防晒策略的健康促进和社区教育项目，但这些年轻人仍然将晒黑与美联系在一起。健康促进和教育项目需要挑战这种观念。然而，作为健康促进的唯一方法，教导保护措施以及让青少年以适当方式保护自己免受日光浴有害影响，可能不足以减少皮肤癌的流行。
