Saridi et al., et al., Primary Health Care 2014, 4:1 DOI: 10.4172/2167-1079.1000153 Volume 4 • Issue 1 • 1000153 Primary Health Care ISSN: 2167-1079 PHCOA, an open access journal Open Access Research Article An Educational Intervention in Primary School Students Regarding Sun Protection: A Pilot Study Saridi M 1 , Toska A 1 , Rekleiti M 1 , Sarafs P 2 , Zoukas L 3 , Souliotis K 4 * and Birbas K 5 1 Department of Nursing, General Hospital of Korinthos, Greece 2 Faculty of Nursing, Technological Educational Institute, Lamia, Greece 3 Department of Gynecology, General Hospital of Korinthos, Greece 4 Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Peloponnese, Korinthos, Greece 5 Faculty of Nursing, National and Kapodistrian, University of Athens, Greece *Corresponding author: Kyriakos Souliotis, Assistant Professor of Health Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences University of Peloponnese, Korinth, Greece, Tel: +30 27410 74991; Fax: +30 27410 74990; E-mail: soulioti@hol.gr Received October 24, 2013; Accepted March 10, 2014; Published March 18, 2014 Citation: Saridi M, Toska A, Rekleiti M, Sarafs P, Zoukas L, et al. (2014) An Educational Intervention in Primary School Students Regarding Sun Protection: A Pilot Study. Primary Health Care 4: 153. doi:10.4172/2167-1079.1000153 Copyright: © 2014 Saridi M, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Keywords: Sun protection; Sun exposure; Sun block; Melanoma; Sunburn Introduction Solar light, entering the Earth’s atmosphere, is fltered by the ozone layer which is at the stratosphere and absorbs most of the UVR by transforming it to heat. Ozone depletion in the last decades has resulted in a 1-3% annual increase in skin cancer cases worldwide [1,2]. Solar radiation risks are widely known and well-established in the literature. Solar radiation may have direct efects on the kin (redness, sunburn, etc.) that occur within hours or days afer exposure, or long-term efects (squamous-cell carcinoma, basal-cell carcinoma, malign melanoma) that occur afer prolonged exposure for many years [3]. Epidemiological data have established a correlation between prolonged sun exposure during childhood and adolescence and occurrence of malign melanoma later in life. Sunburn incidence in these age-groups is also a risk factor for skin cancer [4,5]. Children and adolescents are the main target groups of educational interventions in countries with high skin cancer incidence, such as Australia, New Zealand and USA. WHO and CDC have launched in the last decade similar programs that have been used as an example for other countries that wish to implement similar interventions too [6-9]. Relative studies and interventions have highlighted the students’ awareness about sun-related risks and sun protection measures as well. Tey have also investigated the students’ attitudes, beliefs and behaviours regarding sun exposure and sun protection. It has been documented that providing systematic and continuous information can change erroneous attitudes and lead to wiser behaviours [8-10]. Te aim of the present study was to investigate knowledge and attitudes of primary school students regarding sun protection measures and sun-related risks before and afer an educational intervention. It is a pilot study and its fndings will be the basis for a full-scale study in the future. Te present study will provide some useful insight about methodological problems and difculties that may arise during planning, implementation, data collection and assessment of the intervention. Material and Methods Research planning Te present study is a pilot study that will be used as a guideline for a large-scale epidemiological study. It is a descriptive randomized study of two stages with comparison of the results before and afer an educational intervention. One hundred and twenty students aged 8-12 years were our sample. Tey attended a school in the prefecture Abstract Background: Epidemiological data have established a correlation between prolonged sun exposure during childhood and adolescence and occurrence of malign melanoma later in life. The aim of the present study was to investigate knowledge and attitudes of primary school students regarding sun protection measures and sun-related risks before and after an educational intervention. Methods: It is a descriptive randomized pilot study of two stages with comparison of the results before and after an educational intervention. Sixty students aged 8-12 years from a coastal area participated in this study. Students frst completed an anonymous questionnaire and after that took part in an intervention program. After 15 days the same students completed the questionnaire again. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS 17.0 and statistical signifcance was set to 0.05. Results: Students’ awareness and knowledge level about sun-related risks and sun protection measures before the implementation of the intervention was satisfactory. Regarding sun protection factor, students’ knowledge levels also increased and 55% of them answered correctly. The students’ attitudes after the intervention showed some improvement, yet without any signifcant variation. There were no changes regarding the use of sunglasses and wearing appropriate clothing (hat, long-sleeve shirts, etc.). The proportion of children who used a sunscreen with SPF 30+ was signifcantly higher in students after the intervention (p<0.001). Sunburn incidence was found to be high. 35% of the students reported having at least one sunburn in the past summer. Children after the intervention had signifcantly higher knowledge scores compared to those before the program but the score in attitudes was not so high. Conclusions: This pilot study showed that a similar intervention in a larger sample could increase and expand the students’ knowledge about sun protection. J o u r n a l o f P r i m a r y H e a lt h c a r e : O p e n A c c e s s ISSN: 2167-1079 Primary Health Care: Open Access