Document Type
Article
Journal Title
BMC public health
Publication Date
2022
Volume
22
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer. It is the eighth most common cancer in males and the tenth in females in Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean with a high ultraviolet (UV) index. Cyprus is expected to be strongly affected by climate change and consequently, melanoma will likely become an increasing public health problem. Melanoma prevention is possible; however, it is unknown if people living in Cyprus are aware of melanoma and prevention methods. To this end, we used a validated survey to evaluate the level of melanoma knowledge and factors associated with it in the Cypriot population.
METHODS: We conducted a 47-item survey with sections on demographics, knowledge of melanoma and risk factors, attitudes toward relevant health practices, and protective behaviors among six hundred Cypriot residents from October 2015 to April 2016.
RESULTS: Our results revealed that only 59% of participants check their skin for moles, 87% protect their skin from the sun during summer holidays, and 57% do not take measures to protect their skin from the sun during non-holiday periods. Protective behavior was positively associated with educational level (P=0.016) and district of residence (P
CONCLUSIONS: There are gaps in melanoma knowledge and prevention practices in the study population. Further education on melanoma and its prevention should be specifically targeted to individuals of lower education levels as well as teenagers, such that protective behaviors for melanoma are adopted early in life.
DOI Link
ISSN
1471-2458
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Kyprianou, Demetra; Charalambidou, Iris; Famojuro, Oluwaseun; wang, hongmei; Su, Dejun; and Farazi, Evi A., "Knowledge and Attitudes of Cypriots on Melanoma Prevention: Is there a Public Health Concern?" (2022). Journal Articles: Epidemiology. 133.
https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/coph_epidem_articles/133