Awareness, attitude, and practice toward the use of sunscreen among medical students

Background: Despite the well-documented benefits of sunscreen, its usage remains suboptimal in many populations, even among those with higher educational backgrounds. Objectives: In the current study, we evaluated medical students' awareness, attitudes, and practices regarding the use of sunscreens. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 265 medical students and interns. Demographic characteristics and data of awareness (15 items), attitude (12 items), and practice (7 items) regarding sunscreen use were collected and analyzed. Results: The mean age of students was 24.78 ± 2.65 years and 60.8% were female. The mean awareness, attitude, and practice scores about sunscreen use were 69.3 ± 16.2, 65.1 ± 12.0, and 52.7 ± 29.9, respectively. About 48.7% had moderate awareness, 69.1% had positive attitudes, and 58.5% had modeate practice. For descriptive presentation, awareness, attitude, and practice scores were categorized into levels; however, all statistical analyses were performed using continuous scores. Female students had significantly higher practice scores than males (β =31.05, P