Carley Alexandra, Stratman Erik
a Department of Dermatology , Marshfield Clinic , Marshfield , Wisconsin , USA.
J Agromedicine. 2015;20(2):85-94. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2015.1010059.
Farmers have substantial sun exposure and increased skin cancer risk but poor sun protection practices. There are few studies regarding the underlying factors that contribute to inadequate skin cancer prevention practices in the farming population, and minimal data to guide skin cancer awareness and educational interventions for this population. The purpose of this study was to assess skin cancer knowledge, sun protection behaviors and barriers, health care information sources, and the impact of skin cancer screening among midwestern farmers and nonfarmers. Individuals attending a free skin cancer screening during 2011 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days were surveyed for self-reported sun protection use, extent of sun exposure, and skin cancer and sun protection beliefs and knowledge. A total of 476 individuals participated in the study, including 194 farmers. Although farmers identified sun protection benefits, few reported optimal practices, with only 23% of farmers reporting sunscreen use always or frequently when out in the sun for 15 minutes or more. Common barriers to sun protection included discomfort with wearing long pants and long shirts, forgetfulness with sunscreen use, and inconvenience with wearing wide-brimmed hats. Higher knowledge scores in farmers were associated with better sun protection. Farmers utilized different sources of health care information compared with nonfarmers, including farm magazines and newspapers, radio, and farm organizations. Providers should consider the unique characteristics of the farming population to provide skin cancer prevention education that is tailored to the needs of this population, such as reminders for sunscreen use and resources for sun-protective hats that do not interfere with work. Among individuals without prior history of skin cancer, 34% of farmers and 22% of nonfarmers (P = .0127) were referred for additional evaluation due to identification of a concerning lesion at the screening event. Thus, farmers may preferentially benefit from skin cancer screening events, and this population should be targeted for additional screening events in the future. This study identifies unique characteristics of the farming population that can assist providers in caring for this population and guide the future development of skin cancer awareness, prevention, and screening initiatives to benefit farmers.
农民有大量的阳光暴露且皮肤癌风险增加，但防晒措施不佳。关于导致农民群体皮肤癌预防措施不足的潜在因素的研究很少，且几乎没有数据可用于指导针对该群体的皮肤癌意识和教育干预。本研究的目的是评估中西部农民和非农民的皮肤癌知识、防晒行为及障碍、医疗保健信息来源以及皮肤癌筛查的影响。对在2011年威斯康星州农场技术日期间参加免费皮肤癌筛查的个人进行了调查，询问他们自我报告的防晒用品使用情况、阳光暴露程度以及皮肤癌和防晒信念与知识。共有476人参与了该研究，其中包括194名农民。尽管农民认识到防晒的益处，但很少有人报告采取了最佳做法，只有23%的农民表示在户外阳光下停留15分钟或更长时间时总是或经常使用防晒霜。防晒的常见障碍包括穿长裤和长袖衬衫不舒服、忘记使用防晒霜以及戴宽边帽不方便。农民中较高的知识得分与更好的防晒相关。与非农民相比，农民利用不同的医疗保健信息来源，包括农场杂志和报纸、广播以及农场组织。医疗服务提供者应考虑农民群体的独特特征，以提供适合该群体需求的皮肤癌预防教育，例如提醒使用防晒霜以及提供不影响工作的防晒帽资源。在没有皮肤癌既往史的个体中，34%的农民和22%的非农民（P = 0.0127）因在筛查活动中发现可疑病变而被转诊进行进一步评估。因此，农民可能会从皮肤癌筛查活动中优先受益，未来应针对这一群体开展更多的筛查活动。本研究确定了农民群体的独特特征，可帮助医疗服务提供者照顾该群体，并指导未来皮肤癌意识、预防和筛查举措的发展，以使农民受益。
