title: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Measures Taken by Parents to Protect Their Children from the Sun in Guangzhou City, China.
abstract: Excessive sun exposure can cause sunburn, suntan, skin photoaging, and even skin cancer. Skin photoaging conflicts with the human pursuit of a young and beautiful appearance. Some research data indicate that the incidence of skin cancer in the Chinese has been increasing, although it remains lower than in whites. To estimate the prevalence of sun protection used on Chinese children aged 3-13 years and identify its predictors, a population-based cross-sectional questionnaire was given to 3684 parents/guardians of children in Guangzhou, China, of which 3083 questionnaires were returned. Of those returned, 35.5% of parents/guardians reported regularly using sun protection on their children and the primary reason cited was to prevent sunburn. Hats and handheld umbrellas were the most frequently used measures; sunscreen was less common, and when used, 48.8% of parents/guardians still reapplied sunscreen on their children every 2.0-3.0 h. Parental age, parents using sun protection measures themselves when outdoors, and the child's sex were factors associated with regular use of sun protection on children. These results suggest that sun protection campaigns targeted toward parents and children need to be conducted in Guangzhou, or throughout China, to strengthen awareness about sun protection and address any inadequate protocols of sun protection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology & Venerology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Miaojian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Skin Research Center, Landproof Testing Technology Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Skin Research Center, Landproof Testing Technology Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Yaning
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology & Venerology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology & Venerology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: Skin Research Center, Landproof Testing Technology Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. smileguanlei@163.com.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology & Venerology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. drlaiwei@163.com.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lai
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011481:Protective Clothing; D013471:Sunburn / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013472:Sunlight; D013473:Sunscreening Agents; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D013473:Sunscreening Agents