Assessing the Knowledge, Attitude, Practice towards the Sun Exposure and the use of Sunscreen by the General Population in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Context: Sunlight exposure is a major cause of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). The sunscreen use can reduce the risk of developing melanoma and NMSC. Purpose: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the general population of Makkah city, Saudi Arabia related to sun exposure and the use of sun protection. Methods and Material: The present study is a descriptive cross-sectional study including 577 participants from the general population of Makkah city, Saudi Arabia using an online pretested Arabic questionnaire designed via Google Forms. Results: More than three-quarters of the respondents (78.4%) stated that sun exposure is harmful; of these, 61.9% stated that tanning, pigmentation, burns, skin cancer, and aging are potential risks that result from sun exposure. Further, 39.5% of the participants sometimes used sunscreen, while 23.9% of them regularly used sunscreen when exposed to the sun; the majority (75.1%) was unaware of the different forms of sunscreens. The factors associated with the regular use of sunscreen were female gender, aged between 18-25 years, and single. The majority of the respondents admitted that sunscreen use is necessary for protection against harmful ultraviolet radiation (88.9%); however, only 34.7% of them used other protective methods such as avoiding exposure to the sun (84.0%) and seeking shade (72.0%). Conclusions: According to the results, various attitudes toward the usage of sunscreen were found. Most of the respondents believed that exposure to the sun are harmful. However, the rate of sunscreen use by our population was average despite their reasonable awareness of the effects of sun exposure. This implies the need for health education campaigns and programs.