Sun protection practices for children - Knowledge, attitudes, and parent behaviors

Objective: To examine the frequency with which sun protection is used by pa rents for their children. Design and Setting: Descriptive survey conducted at a university medical cl inic in Florida. Participants: Parents of children aged 1 to 16 years were approached in the waiting area, and 77 of 100 were successfully interviewed. Main Outcome Measures: Parents' self-reported use of sun protection measure s for their children and their attitudes and beliefs about sun protection. Results: Fewer than half of respondents (43%) reported regularly using sun protection for their child. Regular use of sun protection was reported more frequently by female caretakers and those with more favorable attitudes re garding sun protection use. Sunscreen was the most frequently used measure, and preventing sunburn was the primary reason for using sun protection. Re spondents held several unfavorable sun protection attitudes, including the belief that sun exposure was healthy, that children looked better with tan, and that it was okay to stay out in the sun longer if the child wore sunsc reen. Conclusions: Regular use of sun protection for children is infrequent and c onsists primarily of applying sunscreen rather than methods that reduce sun exposure. Parents primarily use sunscreen to prevent sunburn and may incre ase their children's overall sun exposure as a result.