Awareness, behaviour, and attitudes related to risks of sun exposure amongst nursing students

Abstract

The suffering related to skin cancer can be easily prevented through the limitation of sun exposure and the practe of adequate sun safe measures, especially during adolescence. Nevertheless many factors may influence the practice of such health behaviours. This led the student researcher to carry out a small scale study to explore the awareness, behaviour and attitudes related to risks of sun exposure amongst nursing students. To do this, a descriptive cross-sectional approach was chosen and through a self- administered questionnaire, quantitative data as well as some qualitative data were obtained. The randomly chosen sample consisted of 34 first year and fourth year Diploma nursing students. The participants were found to have a high level of knowledge, however some misconceptions were identified, especially regarding risk factors and a healthy suntan. Despite their knowledge, nursing students had frequent sun exposure during the summer and failed to protect themselves adequately against the sun's rays. The participants also had a high personal perceived susceptibility to skin cancer and skin ageing, yet they valued a suntan and the majority had friends who sunbathed. These factors may be connected to the lack of sun protection practiced by the participants. From these findings, recommendations for practice and for further research were drawn.