Does counseling have an effect on sun protection behaviors and early detection of skin cancer in middle-aged and older Turkish people?

Background and Design: The most important avoidable risk factor for skin cancer is ultraviolet light exposure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency and the effect of counseling on sun protection behaviors and early detection of skin cancer. Materials and Methods: Five hundred individuals aged 45-75 years participated in this cross-sectional survey between February 6th and March 07th of 2019. Participants were directed to filled out a questionnaire to understand their sun protection behaviors and learn whether they receive counseling on sun protection and early detection of skin cancer. Results: Out of the 500 subjects, 283 (56.6%) were female and 217 (43.4%) were male. The mean age was 56.65±9.24 years (45-75 years). Two hundred and thirty-four (46.8%) respondents reported having skin-cancer risk factors. The rates of counseling on sun protection and behavior of sun protection were 16% and 39.4%, respectively. Sun protection counseling was significantly associated with self-reported skincancer risk factors and being a female (p<0.001; p=0.048, respectively). The rate of counseling on early detection of skin cancer was low (skin selfexamination: 12%; moles monitoring: 11.8%; annual checkup: 13.2%). The counseling on sun protection and early detection of skin cancer were significantly associated with behaviors of sun protection and early detection of skin cancer (p<0.001; p<0.001, respectively). The older age had a negative effect on the counseling and behaviors (p=0.047; p=0.005, respectively), however, high level of education had a positive effect (p=0.024; p<0.001). Conclusion: Counseling by healthcare professionals on primary and secondary preventions for the middle-aged and older people seems to be insufficient. Further studies on this issue may be beneficial on prevention and early detection of skin cancer.

Keywords: Middle age, older adult, sun protection, counseling, skin cancer, early detection

Orta ve ileri ya? Türk insan?nda güne?ten korunmaya yönelik dan??manl???n güne?ten korunma davran??lar? ve deri kanserinin erken tan?s?na etkisi var m?d?r?

Amaç: Deri kanserinin önlenebilir en önemli risk faktörü ultraviyole ???n maruziyetidir. Bu çal??man?n amac?, dan??manl???n güne?ten korunma davran??lar? ve deri kanserinin erken tan?s?na olan etkisini de?erlendirmektir. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu kesitsel anket çal??mas? 06 ?ubat-07 Mart 2019 tarihleri aras?nda, 45-75 ya? aral???ndaki 500 birey ile yap?ld?. Kat?l?mc?lara, güne?ten korunmaya yönelik davran??lar? ile güne?ten korunma ve deri kanserinin erken tan?s?yla ilgili dan??manl?k al?p almad?klar?n? ö?renmeye yönelik haz?rlanan anket cevaplat?ld?. Bulgular: Çal??maya kat?lan 500 ki?inin 283’ü (%56,6) kad?n, 217’si (%43,4) erkek olup, ya? ortalamas? 56,65±9,24 y?l (45-75 y?l) idi. Kat?l?mc?lar?n 234’ü (%46,8) deri kanseri risk faktörü varl???n? beyan etti. Güne?ten korunmaya yönelik dan??manl?k alma ve davran?? sergileme oranlar? s?ras?yla, %16 ve %39,6 idi. Güne?ten korunmaya yönelik dan??manl?k alma, deri kanseri risk faktörü beyan? ve kad?n olma ile anlam? oranda ili?kiliydi (s?ras?yla, p<0.001; p=0,048). Deri kanserinin erken tan?s?na yönelik dan??manl?k alma oran? dü?üktü (kendi kendine deri muayenesi: %12; ben takibi: %11,8; y?ll?k kontrol: %13,2). Güne?ten korunma ve deri kanseri erken tan?s?na yönelik dan??manl?k alma durumlar?, güne?ten korunma ve deri kanseri erken tan?s?na yönelik davran?? sergileme durumu ile anlaml? oranda ili?kiliydi (s?ras?yla; p<0,001, p<0,001). ?leri ya??n dan??manl?k alma ve davran??lar üzerine negatif yönde etkisi varken (s?ras?yla; p=0,047; p=0,005); yüksek e?itim düzeyi pozitif yönde etkiliydi (p=0,024; p<0,001). Sonuç: Orta ve ileri ya? grubunda, sa?l?k çal??anlar?nca uygulanan birincil ve ikincil önlemlere ili?kin dan??manl?k yetersiz gözükmektedir. Bu konudaki faaliyetlerin geli?tirilmesi, deri kanserinin önlenmesi ve erken tan?s?nda fayda sa?layabilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Orta ya?, ileri ya? eri?kin, güne?ten korunma, dan??manl?k, deri kanseri, erken tan?