Survey of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Female High School Students Regarding Sun Protection in Birjand, Iran

Background: Excessive sun exposure in childhood and adolescence is an important factor in skin cancer. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of female high school students in Birjand, Iran, regarding sun protection behaviors and investigate the effect of various environmental and demographic factors. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on female high school students in Birjand within October to January 2018 using the stratified cluster random sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire containing various items related to knowledge, attitude, and practice, the validity of which was confirmed. Information was also obtained on the geographical location of the school, field of study, grade, grade point average, and parents’ educational level. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22) based on descriptive-analytical analyses. Results: Out of a total of 576 students, 26.7%, 89.1%, and 53.6% had good knowledge, attitude, and practice of skin protection against ultraviolet rays. The practice scores of southern and western school students with better socioeconomic status were higher than in other geographic regions (P < 0.001). The students in experimental sciences had higher knowledge (P = 0.01), and students in humanities had a higher attitude (P = 0.03) and practice (P = 0.007) than the other two disciplines. The third-grade students scored higher on knowledge (P < 0.001). The students whose mothers had university education scored higher in knowledge, attitude, and practice. Moreover, those whose fathers had a university education scored higher in practice. Knowledge and attitude had a significant relationship with practice; attitude had a higher coefficient. Conclusions: Practice can be improved by increasing the levels of knowledge and attitude. The educational level of the parents, especially mothers, is very important in this regard.