Parents' knowledge and understanding of skin cancer and skin self-examination and behaviors to protect their children from the sun.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine parents' knowledge of skin cancer and skin self-examination (SSE) and their efforts to protect their school aged children from the sun.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2018 and November 2019 in Turkey with 1004 parents of middle school students.

RESULTS

Of the parents, 53.7% did not have knowledge about skin cancer or SSE, and 76% did not conduct SSEs with their 9-14 years old children. A total of 61.3% of the participants prevented their children from standing in the sun, but 56.1% did not apply sunscreen to their children. The total mean score on the Skin Cancer and Sun Knowledge Scale (SCSKS) was 13.16 ± 3.03. There were significant differences in the total SCSKS scores by parental gender, number of children, education level, economic status, use of sunscreen, frequency of application of sunscreen, use of light-colored clothing, prevention of exposure to sunlight, use of sunglasses outside, knowledge about skin cancer and SSE and knowledge about early diagnosis of skin cancer (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study showed that parents' behaviors related to sun protection and their skin cancer and SSE knowledge levels were not sufficient. In schools, both students and parents should receive health education regarding skin cancer and prevention methods.