Winslade Matthew, Wright Bradley, Dudley Dean, Cotton Wayne, Brown Alexandra
Faculty of Education, Charles Sturt University, New South Wales.
School of Education, Macquarie University, New South Wales.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2017 Oct;41(5):483-489. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12677. Epub 2017 Jun 29.
Skin cancer represents a major health issue for Australia. Childhood sun exposure is an important risk factor and evidence suggests the use of sun protection measures by Australian school children could be improved. This study examines how the SunSmart Program, a school-based skin cancer prevention resource, can be supported to further increase sun protection behaviours to assist in lowering skin cancer incidence.
The Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework was adopted to select key stakeholders from a convenience sample of five school communities. Students, teaching staff and parents participated in semi-structured focus group and individual interviews. A thematic analysis was used to extract key themes from the data.
Although these school communities were aware of sun protection practices and the risks associated with sun exposure, their understandings of the SunSmart Program were limited. Sun protection policy implementation was inconsistent and students were unlikely to engage in sun protection practices beyond the school setting.
School communities require additional support and engagement to holistically enforce the principles of the SunSmart Program.
皮肤癌是澳大利亚的一个重大健康问题。儿童时期的阳光暴露是一个重要的风险因素，有证据表明澳大利亚学童对防晒措施的使用情况还有待改善。本研究探讨如何支持“明智防晒计划”（一项以学校为基础的皮肤癌预防资源），以进一步增加防晒行为，从而有助于降低皮肤癌发病率。
采用健康促进学校（HPS）框架，从五个学校社区的便利样本中挑选关键利益相关者。学生、教师和家长参与了半结构化焦点小组和个人访谈。采用主题分析法从数据中提取关键主题。
尽管这些学校社区了解防晒措施以及阳光暴露相关风险，但他们对“明智防晒计划”的理解有限。防晒政策的实施不一致，学生不太可能在学校环境之外采取防晒措施。
学校社区需要更多支持和参与，以全面贯彻“明智防晒计划”的原则。
