[Validation of a Spanish questionnaire to evaluate habits, attitudes, and understanding of exposure to sunlight: "the beach questionnaire"].
BACKGROUND
Questionnaires are the usual method for investigating sun-related behavior. However,such tools must be validated through evaluation of their measurement properties.The aim of the present study was to assess the validity and reliability of a Spanish questionnaire evaluating habits, attitudes, and understanding of exposure to sunlight.


METHODS
In a cross-sectional study, the questionnaire was administered to a sample of 422 participants found on beaches. For the test-retest analysis, 70 hospital-based health professionals were interviewed on 2 separate occasions.The construct validity, internal consistency, and reproducibility were analyzed.


RESULTS
Factorial analysis of the principal components confirmed the construct validity with commonalities and factor saturations > 0.50, and revealed multiple dimensions with Cronbach a values > 0.70.The items on habits and understanding showed intraclass correlation and d coefficient values > 0.70, but those on attitude had lower stability values (0.50-0.80).


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first Spanish questionnaire with demonstrated validity and reliability for evaluating habits, attitudes, and understanding of exposure to sunlight. It will be a useful instrument for future epidemiologic studies and research into the prevention of skin cancer in Spain.
de Troya-Martín
M
M
Hospital Costa del Sol. Marbella, Málaga, España. magdatm@hcs.es
Blázquez-Sánchez
N
N
Rivas-Ruiz
F
F
Fernández-Canedo
I
I
Rupérez-Sandoval
A
A
Pons-Palliser
J
J
Perea-Milla
E
E
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013030:Spain; D013472:Sunlight / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires