Study of Sun Protective Behaviors for Skin Cancer Prevention and Its Barriers among Kazeroon Farmers

Skin cancer is the most common cancer among occupational cancers which Sunlight is the most important cause. Farmers due to continuous contact with sunlight are at risk for this cancer. Protective behaviors are one of the most important measures in preventing skin cancer. The aim of this study was to determine sun protective behaviors and some of its related factors among Kazeroon farmers. The cross-sectional study was done on 300 farmers who were selected by cluster sampling from 8 villages in Kazeroon. Data was collected by a researcher-made questionnaire with acceptable reliability and validity. A questionnaire including demographic data as well as questions about measures for farmers’ performance about using sun protective behaviors, causes for Lack of this behavior and information source of skin cancer and its prevention methods. These questions were completed by interviews with farmers and were analyzed using SPSS18. In this study, sun-protective behaviors in farmers was higher than average. The most frequent sun protective behavior was "wearing clothes that cover more of the body" while wearing "sunscreen" was reported as the less frequent. The most important reason for not doing sun protective behaviors among farmers was the "expensiveness of protective devices". Results showed a significant relationship between age, sex, education, income, family history of sunburn with protective behaviors (p<0.05).History of sunburn increase possibility of sun-protective behaviors to 2.048 times In this study showing of sun protective behaviors in farmers has been considered moderate. It is notable that behaviors are based on knowledge and attitudes so designing educational programs regarding these findings can promote sun protective behaviors and reduce the risk of skin cancer.