{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T17:48:16Z","timestamp":1774028896391,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"SMW Supporting Association","issue":"0708","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2012,2,12]],"date-time":"2012-02-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1329004800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Swiss Med Wkly"],"abstract":"<jats:p>BACKGROUND:  The skin cancer incidence in Switzerland  is one of the highest in Europe and still on  the rise. Sun protection is the main preventive measure and of utmost  importance during childhood and adolescence, since sunburns within these early  phases of life increase the risk of developing skin cancer in  adulthood.\n        OBJECTIVES: The aim of this prospective study, the first of its kind in Switzerland, was to investigate the sun  protective behaviour of primary and secondary school students in Basel (North-Western  Switzerland) and to test their knowledge about adverse health effects of solar  radiation and about protective measures.\n        METHODS: Between March and April 2010, supervised classroom surveys during  regular school lessons were conducted in 13 public schools using a multiple-choice  questionnaire. 960 questionnaires were handed out to 48 school classes.  Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were performed on the  data of 887 (&gt;90%) students from three different grades (3rd, 6th and 9th grade).\n        RESULTS: Sun-related knowledge was high in one third  of all respondents only and significantly depended on student\u2019s age and  educational background. Although the oldest students reached the highest  knowledge scores, they protected themselves the least from the sun. Sunscreen  was the principal form of sun protection mentioned, but was insufficiently  applied. Seeking shade and wearing clothing as protective measures were hardly  used. High educational background (i.e., of the parents) was a determinant for  routine use of sunscreen but was not associated with following other sun  protective measures. The desire for a suntan had no impact on the use of sunscreen, but was a  significant predictor for not seeking shade and wearing shoulderless shirts  when in the sun. More than half of all study participants experienced at least  one sunburn during the year preceding the survey. Fair skin type, higher grade,  not seeking shade and wearing shoulderless shirts were directly associated with  increased odds of sunburn. No\u00a0association was found for the use of sunscreen  and the occurrence of sunburn.\n        CONCLUSIONS:  In order to reduce the incidence of skin cancer in Switzerland, it is essential to  improve children\u2019s and adolescents\u2019 sun protective behaviour. Future skin cancer  prevention campaigns should  teach proper use of  sunscreen, and emphasise the value of wearing clothing and seeking shade as the  most effective sun protection. Furthermore, major efforts are needed to change  adolescents\u2019 attitude towards a suntan.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4414\/smw.2012.13520","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2012,2,28]],"date-time":"2012-02-28T07:57:25Z","timestamp":1330415845000},"page":"w13520","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Sun  protective behaviour of primary and secondary school students in North-Western  Switzerland"],"prefix":"10.57187","volume":"142","author":[{"given":"Daphne","family":"Reinau","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Christoph","family":"Meier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nathalie","family":"Gerber","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"G\u00fcnther F. L.","family":"Hofbauer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Christian","family":"Surber","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"36756","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2012,2,12]]},"container-title":["Swiss Medical Weekly"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/smw.ch\/index.php\/smw\/article\/download\/1431\/1746","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/smw.ch\/index.php\/smw\/article\/download\/1431\/1747","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/smw.ch\/index.php\/smw\/article\/download\/1431\/1746","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,15]],"date-time":"2025-08-15T03:33:47Z","timestamp":1755228827000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/smw.ch\/index.php\/smw\/article\/view\/1431"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2012,2,12]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"0708","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2012,2,13]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4414\/smw.2012.13520","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-3997"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-3997","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2012,2,12]]}}}