Sun-Protection Habits of Primary Students in a Coastal Area of Greece

Abstract EN

Aim.

The aim of the present study was to record habits and attitudes of primary school students in Greece regarding sun-protection measures.

Materials and Methods.

2,163 students with an average age of 9.9 (±1.1) years, studying in 14 schools of a Greek region, constituted our sample.

The SPSS 17.0 software was used for the statistical analysis and significance level was set to P≤0.05.

Results.

Our sample had an equal gender distribution.

16% of the students belonged to the high-risk group, 70.2% of the participants lived 0–5 km away from the sea (urban area), 84.2% of the students were Greek, and 15.8% had non-Greek nationality.

Half of the participants said they wear a hat when under the sun and 72% of them said they use sunscreen.

33.1% of the students said they had a sunburn last summer.

Greek students as well as those who lived near the sea had better behaviour patterns regarding sun protection.

Finally, children who did not use a sunscreen systematically had suffered sunburns more often than the rest.

Conclusions.

Health education programmes are necessary for students and parents/teachers alike, in order to raise awareness about everyday sun protection.