DETERMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SKIN CANCER AND SUN KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIOR IN ADULTS LIVING IN AN REGION WITH FOUR SEASONS OF SUN

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between skin cancer, sun knowledge, and sun protection behaviors of adults in the health center located in Dikmen region (North Cyprus).Material and Methods: This study was conducted as a cross-sectional study between 20 June 2020 and 29 July 2020. The sample group of n=284 individuals were taken from the population served by the Dikmen primary health care center (N=1078). The data were collected with the 'Socio-Demographic data form', 'Fitzpatrick Skin Type Scale', 'Skin Cancer and Sun Information Scale' and 'Sun Protection Behavior Scale'. Frequency, percentage, mean, t Test, One-way Anova and Pearson Correlation Test were used for data analysis.Results: Participants had the mean age of 49.0 +/- 17.6 and 53.2% of them were female. When the skin types of participants were examined according to the Fitzpatrick classification, it was found that 32.7% of them had average skin color. The 'Skin cancer and sun knowledge scale' (12.8 +/- 2.5) and 'Sun protection behavior scale' (23.6 +/- 6.8) total means score was found to be moderate level. A positive, weak, statistically significant relationship was realized between the participants' overall mean score of the 'Skin Cancer and Sun Information Scale' and the total mean score of the 'Sun Protection Behavior Scale' (p<0.05; R=0.127).Conclusion: As a result of this study, it is understood that the sun protection knowledge level of the participants has no effect on their protection behavior.