Sun awareness in school teachers.

School children are important targets for sun awareness education, but the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of school teachers with respect to sun awareness are poorly understood. A questionnaire-based survey of 76 school teachers was undertaken. Twenty-four per cent of teachers indicated previous experience in teaching sun awareness, but 93% of teachers had no classroom resources for teaching sun awareness. Sun awareness was perceived by respondents as unimportant relative to other health education issues. There was considerable scope for improvement in attitudes and behaviour of teachers with respect to sun awareness. Teachers need more information about environmental factors which affect strength of sunlight, individual risk factors for sunburn and sunscreen strength. Intervention strategies involving school teachers need simple messages, emphasizing the importance of shade, clothing and hats in sun avoidance.