‘My child did not like using sun protection’: practices and perceptions of child sun protection among rural black African mothers

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Patricia N. Albers¹  Caradee Y. Wright²  Zamantimande Kunene³  Angela Mathee⁴  Cathy Banwell⁵  Robyn M. Lucas⁶ 

[1] Environment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, 1 Soutpansberg Road, Private Bag x385, 0001, Pretoria, South Africa;Environment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, 1 Soutpansberg Road, Private Bag x385, 0001, Pretoria, South Africa;Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa;Environment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Johannesburg, South Africa;Environment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Johannesburg, South Africa;Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa;Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa;National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia;National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia;Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia;

关键词: Solar ultraviolet radiation;    Environmental health;    Africa;    Skin of colour;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-017-4688-7

 received in 2017-06-22, accepted in 2017-08-20,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPhotodamage is partially mitigated by darker skin pigmentation, but immune suppression, photoaging and cataracts occur among individuals with all skin types.MethodsTo assess practices and acceptability to Black African mothers of sun protection equipment for their children living in a rural area, participants were recruited at the time of their child’s 18-month vaccinations. Mothers completed a baseline questionnaire on usual sun behaviours and sun protection practices. They were then provided with sun protection equipment and advice. A follow-up questionnaire was administered two weeks later.ResultsMothers reported that during the week prior to the baseline questionnaire, children spent on average less than 1 hour of time outdoors (most often spent in the shade). Most mothers (97%) liked the sun protection equipment. However, many (78 of 86) reported that their child did not like any of the sun protection equipment and two-thirds stated that the sun protection equipment was not easy to use.ConclusionsAmong Black Africans in rural northern South Africa, we found a mismatch between parental preferences and child acceptance for using sun protection when outdoors. A better understanding of the health risks of incidental excess sun exposure and potential benefits of sun protection is required among Black Africans.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017