Does counseling have an effect on sun protection behaviors and early detection of skin cancer in middle-aged and older Turkish people?
Journal Title: Turkderm-Turkish Archives of Dermatology and Venereology - Year 2020, Vol 54, Issue 1
Abstract
Background and Design: The most important avoidable risk factor for skin cancer is ultraviolet light exposure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency and the effect of counseling on sun protection behaviors and early detection of skin cancer. Materials and Methods: Five hundred individuals aged 45-75 years participated in this cross-sectional survey between February 6th and March 07th of 2019. Participants were directed to filled out a questionnaire to understand their sun protection behaviors and learn whether they receive counseling on sun protection and early detection of skin cancer. Results: Out of the 500 subjects, 283 (56.6%) were female and 217 (43.4%) were male. The mean age was 56.65±9.24 years (45-75 years). Two hundred and thirty-four (46.8%) respondents reported having skin-cancer risk factors. The rates of counseling on sun protection and behavior of sun protection were 16% and 39.4%, respectively. Sun protection counseling was significantly associated with self-reported skincancer risk factors and being a female (p<0.001; p=0.048, respectively). The rate of counseling on early detection of skin cancer was low (skin selfexamination: 12%; moles monitoring: 11.8%; annual checkup: 13.2%). The counseling on sun protection and early detection of skin cancer were significantly associated with behaviors of sun protection and early detection of skin cancer (p<0.001; p<0.001, respectively). The older age had a negative effect on the counseling and behaviors (p=0.047; p=0.005, respectively), however, high level of education had a positive effect (p=0.024; p<0.001). Conclusion: Counseling by healthcare professionals on primary and secondary preventions for the middle-aged and older people seems to be insufficient. Further studies on this issue may be beneficial on prevention and early detection of skin cancer.
Authors and Affiliations
Atiye Oğrum, Osman Demir
Keywords
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- EP ID EP685398
- DOI 10.4274/turkderm.galenos.2019.25593
- Views 186
- Downloads 0
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