Sun safety knowledge, practices and attitudes in rural Australian farmers: a cross-sectional study in Western New South Wales

BMC Public Health

Nikitha Kramadhari¹  Jannine Bailey¹  Charmaine D’Souza¹  Elizabeth Skalkos¹  Tegan Dutton¹ 

[1] Bathurst Rural Clinical School, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, PO Box 9008, 2795, Bathurst, NSW, Australia;

关键词: Farmers;    Sun protection;    Skin Cancer;    Melanoma;    Occupational exposure;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-021-10777-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundRates of skin cancer in Australia are amongst the highest in the world, with Western New South Wales (NSW) exhibiting very high prevalence. There is a large proportion of outdoor workers, including farmers, in Western NSW who have high levels of sun exposure and hence are at greater risk of developing skin cancer.AimsTo characterise the current sun safety practices of farmers in Western NSW and explore their knowledge, attitudes and perceived barriers towards sun safety and its implementation.MethodsA cross-sectional survey study was conducted using a self-directed questionnaire. Participants were recruited at field days held in Western NSW and through surveys distributed at general practices, local stores and online. Eligibility criteria were aged 18 years and over and currently working on a farm in the study region.ResultsOf the 144 participants, 89 (61.8%) were male with a mean age of 49 years. Knowledge of sun safety was relatively high with most questions answered correctly by greater than 80% of participants. Risk of developing skin cancer was underestimated in 58 (40.3%) participants. Of all participants, 89 (62.2%) identified one or more barriers to practicing sun safety. The most common barrier was forgetfulness in 62 (43.4%) participants. The identification of barriers was significantly associated with reduced engagement of sun safety practices (p = 0.009).ConclusionsKnowledge of sun safety among farmers was high. There was, however, underestimation of risk of developing skin cancer. Addressing perceived barriers to implementing sun safety could improve sun safety practices in this cohort.

【 授权许可】

CC BY