Research Article
Sun Protection Behaviors Associated with Self-Efficacy,
Susceptibility, and Awareness among Uninsured Primary Care
Patients Utilizing a Free Clinic
Akiko Kamimura,
1
Maziar M. Nourian,
2
Jeanie Ashby,
3
Ha Ngoc Trinh,
1,4
Jennifer Tabler,
1
Nushean Assasnik,
5
and Bethany K. H. Lewis
6
1
Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
2
School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
3
Maliheh Free Clinic, Salt Lake City, UT 84107, USA
4
Department of Sociology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam
5
Health Society and Policy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
6
Department of Dermatology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to Akiko Kamimura; akiko.kamimura@utah.edu
Received 29 July 2015; Accepted 25 August 2015
Academic Editor: Iris Zalaudek
Copyright © 2015 Akiko Kamimura et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
Background. Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in the United States (US). However, knowledge,
behaviors, and attitudes regarding sun protection vary among the general population. he purpose of this study is to examine
sun protection behaviors of low-income primary care patients and assess the association between these health behaviors and the
self-eicacy, susceptibility, and skin cancer awareness. Methods. Uninsured primary care patients utilizing a free clinic ( = 551)
completed a self-administered survey in May and June 2015. Results. Using sunscreen was the least common tactic among the
participants of this study. Skin cancer awareness and self-eicacy are important to improve sun protection behaviors. Spanish
speakers may have lower levels of skin care awareness compared to US born and non-US born English speakers. Male and female
participants use diferent sun protection methods. Conclusion. It is important to increase skin cancer awareness with self-eicacy
interventions as well as education on low-cost sun protection methods. Spanish speaking patients would be a target population
for promoting awareness. Male and female patients would need separate gender-speciic sun protection education. Future studies
should implement educational programs and assess the efectiveness of the programs to further promote skin cancer prevention
among underserved populations.
1. Introduction
Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of
cancer in the United States (US) [1]. he incident rate of
cancer is known to vary by race and ethnicity: non-Hispanic
whites are most susceptible to skin cancer (25 per 100,000),
followed by Hispanics (4 per 100,000), while blacks are least
likely to be diagnosed with skin cancer (1 per 100,000) [1].
Yet, racial or ethnic minority groups tend to have higher
mortality and morbidity risks from skin cancer compared
to majority groups [2]. Decreasing unprotected ultraviolet
exposure is efective in preventing skin cancer [3]; thus,
wearing sunscreen and wearing sun protective clothing are
common recommendations for sun protection [4]. However,
knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes regarding sun protection
vary among the general population [5].
Variation in the knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes
toward sun protection may be related to group diferences
in self-eicacy, perceived susceptibility, and skin cancer
awareness; it is well established that individual level self-
eicacy, perceived susceptibility, and awareness are impor-
tant constructs inluencing health behaviors [6], including
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Dermatology Research and Practice
Volume 2015, Article ID 753681, 7 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/753681