RATIONALE

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in fair-skinned populations. Overall, strategies focus on modifiable risk factors such as reducing ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure through physical, topical or systemic protection. Currently, data on knowledge, attitude and practices of Filipino patients on UV index in relation to sun protection is unavailable.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study is to improve sunscreen use among patients seen in a tertiary hospital in Manila, specifically after UV index education.

METHODOLOGY AND POPULATION

The study will be conducted among patients at the outpatient department of the University of Santo Tomas Hospital, Department of Dermatology, after UV index education. Patients who will be included are aged 18 to 65 years old, belonging to both sexes and able to understand English or Filipino. The exclusion criteria includes children, elderly greater than the age of 65, prisoners, mentally handicapped or those with incurable diseases.

TIME FRAME

3 weeks 

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

The outcome is the improvement in sunscreen use among patients seen in a tertiary hospital in Manila, specifically after UV index education.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Radiation Exposure ; Sunscreening Agents ; Dermatology

BACKGROUND

Acne patients often use medications, either over the counter or prescribed by dermatologists, to manage their condition. Dermatologists frequently include sunscreens as part of these treatment plans alongside acne medications. This research aims to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding sunscreen use among respondents who are confirmed acne patients and have been prescribed sunscre-en as part of their treatment regimen.

OBJECTIVE

This research examines the current knowledge, attitudes, and practices of acne patients regarding sunscreen use as part of their acne t reatment regimen, considering demographic factors. The knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the respondents will be compared across different age groups, genders, and employment statuses.

METHODS

This study purposefully collected data from patients with active acne on the use of sunscreens alongside acne medications. The sample included males and females aged 18-27, 28-40, and 40+ residing in either the National Capital Region or the CALABARZON Region, with 105 respondents in each group. Data was gathered using a validated Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) questionnaire, consisting of 30 questions that had undergone reliability testing via Cronbach's alpha. Responses were recorded on a 3-point Likert scale to model the interaction of KAP variables. The research material was distributed through Google Forms in June 2024. Data analysis was conducted using R, specifically the psych package, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to compare groups, determining if significant differences existed among them. This test was incorporated within RStudio.

RESULTS

Findings indicated that respondents generally demonstrated a high level of understanding regarding the importance of sunscreen when used alongside acne treatments, particularly acknowledging its role in preventing acne scarring and reducing skin sensitivity caused by treatment products. Additionally, attitudes toward sunscreen use were largely positive, with respondents rejecting common misconceptions about sunscreen. However, actual sunscreen application practices were moderate, with adherence levels varying across the sample. Significant differences in sunscreen use were observed based on employment status, gender, and age.

CONCLUSION

Acne patients in this study had a high level of knowledge and a positive attitude on the use of sunscreen together with their acne medications. consistency in sunscreen application was moderate. unemployed respondents were more receptive to external influences regarding sunscreen use. Female respondents were more informed and proactive than male respondents. Younger respondents were more influenced by social networks. This research highlights the need for continued education on the benefits of sunscreen use to be able to achieve an effective acne vulgaris management.

Human ; Knowledge ; Attitude ; Acne Vulgaris ; Sunscreen ; Sunscreening Agents

The incidence of skin cancer has continuously increased in Korea, probably due to sun exposure and increases in the aging population. Ultraviolet light, a well-known risk factor for skin cancer, can cause DNA damage, mutation, and immune suppression, followed by abnormal proliferation. To prevent photocarcinogenesis, the appropriate use of sunscreen should be emphasized. Using broad-spectrum sunscreens with sun protection factor values of 15 or higher and frequent reapplication are recommended. Controversy exists about whether vitamin D synthesis is inhibited by the use of sunscreen. However, considering that skin cancer most commonly develops on the head and neck area, applying it to the face and neck is reasonable in terms of balancing the risk-benefit ratio.
Aging ; DNA Damage ; Head ; Incidence ; Korea ; Neck ; Risk Factors ; Skin Neoplasms ; Skin ; Solar System ; Sun Protection Factor ; Sunscreening Agents ; Ultraviolet Rays ; Vitamin D

PURPOSE: The aim of this research was to adapt the Sun Protection Behavior Scale (SPBS) to Turkish and to perform validity and reliability analyses. METHODS: The scale was administered to a total of 900 adolescents, the retest to 91 adolescents. The construct validity of the scale was evaluated using exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The EFA and CFA were applied to sample groups of 449 and 451 people, respectively. RESULTS: The Cronbach alpha coefficients for the Turkish form of the SPBS (alpha = .74) and its sunscreen (alpha = .88) and hat use (alpha = .70) subscales were found to be > or =.70 while the sun avoidance subscale was calculated to be .67. The item-total score correlation between the scale and its subscales was > or =.26 and the test-retest correlations were found to be > or =.51. The CFA results verified the 8-item, 3-factor Turkish version of the SPBS. The confirmatory factor loadings for the scale were .45-.80 for sun avoidance, .72-.93 for sunscreen use, and .66-.83 for hat use. In particular, SPBS and sunscreen use (p < .001) exhibited significantly high mean scores among girls and economically better backgrounds (p = .007, p < .001, respectively). In addition, SPBS (p = .004) and hat use (p < .001) revealed that the mean scores were significantly high in younger adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: The SPBS was found to be valid and reliable and its psychometric characteristics acceptable. The scale can be used to measure the behavior of Turkish adolescent populations with respect to sun protection.
Adolescent ; Child ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Female ; *Health Behavior ; Humans ; Male ; Psychometrics/*methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sunscreening Agents/*therapeutic use ; Surveys and Questionnaires/*standards ; Turkey

BACKGROUND: Advances in medicine and improved overall standard of living have brought people's attention to living a long healthy life. As a consequence, geriatric medicine is now gaining more and more attention in the field of medicine and dermatology is no exception. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine features of the elderly in terms of the prevalence of dermatosis and general and medical skin care patterns. METHODS: A detailed survey and complete physical examination were performed on 525 patients aged over 65, who were treated at the endocrinology center at our hospital, from January to December 2011. RESULTS: The elderly gained most information on dermatologic diseases from their families and neighbors. The most common dermatologic disorder was senile lentigo (85.5%), followed by seborrheic keratosis (69.0%), xerosis cutis (63.0%), generalized pruritus (42.3%), onychomycosis (30.3%), and cherry angioma (26.9%). Furthermore, xerosis cutis was more often found in older patient groups among the elderly. When it comes to general skin care, one third of the elderly used moisturizers and 10.7% used sunscreens. Only 1.3% of the elderly received medical skin care. CONCLUSION: This study can be used as useful baseline data not only for the government to formulate a national health care plan but for each medical center to understand dermatologic disorders of the elderly and educate its staff members on the management of dermatologic problems of the elderly.
Aged ; Delivery of Health Care ; Dermatology ; Endocrinology ; Hemangioma ; Humans ; Keratosis, Seborrheic ; Lentigo ; Onychomycosis ; Outpatients ; Physical Examination ; Prevalence ; Prunus ; Pruritus ; Skin ; Skin Care ; Skin Diseases ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Sunscreening Agents

OBJECTIVES: Unprotected leisure time exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or artificial tanning beds is the most important environmental risk factor for melanoma, a malignant skin cancer with increasing incidences over the past decades. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of skin health information provided by several sources and different publishing issues on knowledge, risk perception, and sun protective behavior of sunbathers. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among Austrian residents (n=563) spending leisure time outdoors in August 2010. RESULTS: Print media, television, and family were perceived as the most relevant sources of information on skin health, whereas the source physician was only ranked as fourth important source. Compared to other sources, information provided by doctors positively influenced participants' knowledge on skin risk and sun protective behavior resulting in higher scores in the knowledge test (p=0.009), higher risk perception (p<0.001), and more sun protection (p<0.001). Regarding gender differences, internet was more often used by males as health information source, whereas females were more familiar with printed information material in general. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this survey put emphasis on the demand for information provided by medical professionals in order to attain effective, long-lasting promotion of photoprotective habits.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Health Behavior ; *Health Education ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Male ; Melanoma/*prevention & control ; Middle Aged ; Public Health ; Questionnaires ; Risk Factors ; Skin Neoplasms/*prevention & control ; Sunburn/prevention & control ; Sunscreening Agents/therapeutic use ; Ultraviolet Rays ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Senile purpura is characterized by ecchymoses on the extensor surfaces of the forearms and the dorsa of hands in the elderly. The prevalence is around 10% in the eight and ninth decades. Its occurrence is secondary to the fragility of blood vessel walls caused by atrophy of dermal collagen bundles and solar elastosis due to intrinsic aging and photoaging. For prevention of senile purpura, sunscreens and barrier protection should be used. However, there has been no specific medical treatments developed for senile purpura. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of a topical calcineurin inhibitor for the treatment of senile purpura. METHODS: Seven patients with senile purpura applied 1% pimecrolimus cream twice daily for 2 weeks. Efficacy was evaluated by the subject's assessment and by the objective findings using photographic assessment. RESULTS: There was an 8.5% reduction in the purpuric area compared with the initial lesion. When the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for determination of the purpuric area between the pre-treatment condition and the post-treatment condition, the therapeutic effect was statistically significant (p=0.004). Three of seven patients (42.9%) were satisfied with their treatment, and four of them (57.1%) were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. No adverse events were observed during the treatment and follow up periods. CONCLUSION: This study shows that 1% pimecrolimus cream can be an effective and safe treatment modality for senile purpura.
Aged ; Aging ; Atrophy ; Blood Vessels ; Calcineurin ; Collagen ; Ecchymosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Forearm ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Hand ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Purpura ; Sunscreening Agents ; Tacrolimus

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the different treatment modalities employed for melasma by practicing dermatologists in the Philippines. BACKGROUND: Melasma is a prevalent skin condition among Filipinos due to our skin type and climate. To date, no local studies have been done investigating the different treatment regimens practiced/ employed by Filipino dermatologists in treating melasma. METHODS: This is a descriptive study investigating the different treatment strategies used by Filipino dermatologists using a questionnaire.The questionnaires were given to practicing Filipino dermatologists personally during conferences and conventions held in 2005 as well as to the different Philippine Dermatological Society accredited training institutions and private clinics of the doctors. The total sample size was 117. RESULTS: Melasma is frequently seen among Fitzpatrick skin type IV (50%),females, 41-50 year-old age group (50%) and commonly on the cheeks (98%). Grade 2 severity melasma was often seen by 75% of the respondents. The top 3 topical depigmenting agents of choice are tretinoin, hydroquinone and combination therapy. Microdermabrasion was preferred by 43.5% of the respondents over laser. Once combination treatment regimens fail, laser treatment more than doubled to 28.7%. Vitamin C (37.7%) and glutathione (31.6%) are the most common oral maintenance therapy given by the respondents. Half of all the respondents advise continuous maintenance therapy while a third of them advise maintenance for a year. The most common side effect of melasma treatment is erythema according to 51% of the respondents followed largely by hyperpigmentation (23%) and scaling (22%). More than half of the dermatologists surveyed stop the treatment regimen when side effects are observed. Almost all respondents advise patients to use sunblock daily and majority of respondents prescribe both UVB and UVA sunblocks.

Human ; Female ; Ascorbic Acid ; Cheek ; Dermatologists ; Erythema ; Glutathione ; Hydroquinones ; Hyperpigmentation ; Melanosis ; Philippines ; Skin Lightening Preparations ; Sunscreening Agents ; Surveys And Questionnaires ; Tretinoin

OBJECTIVETo understand the awareness of occupational hazards to ultraviolet (UV) and sunscreen awareness, protective measures in Wuhan City traffic police on duty outside.

METHODSThe investigation included questionnaire survey in Wuhan City 367 traffic police on duty outside, talk with them face to face, fill in the questionnaires, and medical examine skin of exposed parts of body of them and 134 Wuhan City administration staffs.

RESULTSThey understand UV harm to the human body and skin well (94.8% of them know that UV harm to skin), did not understand sun skin care and protective measures enough, and did not adopt enough sun skin care and protective measures (only 3.8% of them use sun skin care more than twice); but contrast to older persons, younger traffic police had better understanding of UV radiation damage on the human body and the skin, and sunscreen products and protective measures, paid more attention to sunscreen, and had less chance of sunburn (in the past 5 years, 18.3% of younger traffic police had sunburnt more than 3 times, but for older traffic police, the number is 30.3%). Traffic police had more skin problems than administration staffs in exposed parts of body (Traffic police face appears oily and large pores, facial pigmentation spots, face telangiectasia, deep wrinkles crude rates respectively were 73.7%, 40.4%, 36.5%, 10.4%, but for administration staffs, the numbers respectively were 26.1%, 15.7%, 15.7%, 1.5%).

CONCLUSIONUV can induce skin problems in exposed parts of body. The traffic police should be enhanced the publicity and education on UV-related knowledge and occupational hazards, especially for older traffic police.

Adult ; China ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; prevention & control ; Police ; Skin ; pathology ; Sunscreening Agents ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Ultraviolet Rays ; adverse effects

BACKGROUND: Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation induces sunburn, immune suppression, and various pigmentary disorders. Sunscreens are widely used to protect those untoward effects by UV but there are reports of phototoxicity or stability problems of sunscreens after exposure to UV. OBJECTIVE: We tried to compare sunscreens with different photostability in terms of their protection against various biologic responses like sunburn, immune suppression or pigmentation. METHODS: Three different sunscreens with SPF around 30 were used; Sunscreen-A (Sc-A) was photochemically inert, sunscreen-B (Sc-B) showed intermediate level of photostability, and sunscreen-C (Sc-C) was the least stable. To observe their in vivo effects, we measured sunscreen-protection against sunburn by back-skin swelling and sunburn cell formation, against immune suppression measured by depletion of Langerhans cells, local and systemic suppression of contact hypersensitivity (CHS), and against pigmentation by irradiation with mixed light source with UVA and UVB lamps that mimic solar UV spectrum. RESULTS: Back skin swellings by 5 kJ/m2 of UVB were protected well by sunscreens, but protection of Sc-C against 50 kJ/m2 of UVB was worse than Sc-A or Sc-B. Sunburn cells were increased significantly in mice irradiated with 5 kJ/m2 of UVB and it was protected by sunscreens, and the effect of photostability was minimal. Depletion of epidermal Langerhans cells by 5 kJ/m2 of UVB was protected completely by sunscreens. Local suppression of CHS by 5 kJ/m2 of UVB was protected by sunscreens, and Sc-A had better protection. But, in the experiment with 50 kJ/m2 of UVB, the protective efficacy was reversed; Sc-A showed worse protection. Systemic suppression of CHS by 10 kJ/m2 of UVB was protected well by sunscreens, and Sc-A had better protection and Sc-C had worse protection. In the experiment irradiated with 100 kJ/m2 of UVB, the protection of sunscreens was decreased, and Sc-B showed better protection, whereas Sc-C showed worse protection. In UV-induced pigmentation, all three sunscreens showed significant protection both by L* value and individual topographic angle (ITA) with the best protection by Sc-A and the worst protection by Sc-B. CONCLUSION: These data showed sunscreens can protect various in vivo responses and photostability of sunscreens played important roles particularly in the back-skin swelling and systemic suppression of CHS by high dose of UVB.
Animals ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Dermatitis, Phototoxic ; Langerhans Cells ; Mice ; Pigmentation ; Skin ; Sunburn ; Sunscreening Agents*