Effect of an interactive educational activity using handheld ultraviolet radiation dosimeters on sun protection knowledge among Australian primary school students

Marco Lee Solano; Samuel Robinson; Martin W Allen; Gillian Reyes-Marcelino; David Espinoza; Brooke Beswick; Dorothy H K Tse; Liyang Ding; Lauren Humphreys; Cathelijne Van Kemenade; Suzanne Dobbinson; Amelia K Smit; Anne E Cust

doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101690

Effect of an interactive educational activity using handheld ultraviolet radiation dosimeters on sun protection knowledge among Australian primary school students

Prev Med Rep. 2021 Dec 31:25:101690. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101690. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
² Electrical and Computer Engineering and The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
³ The Daffodil Centre, The University of Sydney, a joint venture with Cancer Council NSW, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
⁵ Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
⁶ Melanoma Institute Australia, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Abstract

Ultraviolet radiation (UV) is the main cause of skin cancer, and children are a priority group for reducing UV exposure. We evaluated whether an interactive educational activity using handheld dosimeters improved UV-related knowledge among primary (elementary) school students. We conducted an uncontrolled before-after study among 427 students in grades 3-6 (ages 8-12 years) at five schools in the Greater Sydney region, Australia. Students used UV dosimeters to measure UV exposure, using the UV index scale, at different locations on their school grounds with and without different forms of sun protection, followed by an indoor classroom presentation and discussion. A 10-point anonymous questionnaire was completed by each student before and after the entire session (60-90 min). Before-after responses were compared using a generalised linear mixed model, adjusted for school, grade and gender. Overall, the mean raw scores increased from 6.3 (out of 10) before the intervention to 8.9 after the intervention, and the adjusted difference in scores was 2.6 points (95% confidence interval 2.4-2.8; p < 0.0001). Knowledge improved for all questions, with the greatest improvement for questions related to the UV Index (p < 0.05). The effect of the intervention was similar across different school, grade and gender groups. School and grade had no significant effect on mean survey scores, but girls scored an average 0.2 points higher than boys (95% confidence interval 0.1-0.4; p = 0.01). In conclusion, Australian primary school students had moderate knowledge about UV and sun protection, and knowledge improved significantly after a short interactive educational activity using handheld UV dosimeters.

Keywords: Behaviors; Dosimeter; Elementary school children; GLMM, generalised linear mixed model; Intervention; Knowledge; SD, standard deviation; Skin cancer; Sun protection; UV, Ultraviolet radiation; Ultraviolet radiation.