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Copyright @ Pol J Cosmetol
Pol J Cosmetol 2010, 13(2): 99-105pl,en  Tanning salon employees´ awareness and knowledge about the prevention of malignant melanomaAgnieszka Dana, Paulina Gadecka, Ryszard Glinka Zakład Kosmetologii Wydziału Farmaceutycznego Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Łodzi Summary Introduction. In recent decades, all over the world a significant increase in the incidence of malignant melanoma is observed both in women and men, especially of white race. The main etiological factor inducing the development of melanoma is ultraviolet radiation (UV), emitted both by the sun and solariums. In Poland the tanning salon market develops fast, with simultaneous lack of legal regulations which determine qualifications of the tanning devices servicing staff. Aim. The study was aimed at determining the awareness and knowledge of tanning salon employees about the prevention of malignant melanoma, as well as analysis of their health promoting behaviours within the sun protection in every day life. Material and method. The study comprised 50 employees of tanning salons in and around Łódź. A research method was a specially constructed questionnaire consisting of 40 questions, mainly closed ones. Results. 100% of employees of tanning salons are of the opinion that tanning there is safe, provided that their clients use them in moderation. 96% use the solarium (64.6% use it several times a month). 97.9% of respondents tan in a sunbed for at least 8 minutes at a time. The respondents also willingly spend time outdoors (68% - at least 4 hours a day), but they are reluctant to use various forms of the sun protection (94% - seldom or never wear a headgear, 58% - seldom or never apply creams with sun protection filters). Employees do not know sufficiently the worrying symptoms signifying the development of melanoma (64.7% do not think that irregular edge of pigmental naevus may be dangerous). Conclusions. Employees of tanning salons do not have sufficient knowledge about the prevention of malignant melanoma, even though they supervise the functioning of the ultraviolet radiation emitting devices. The employees usually do not apply the melanoma prevention principles in every day life, neither do they know the basic symptoms of evaluating the pigmental naevi towards oncological changes. Key words: malignant melanoma, prevention, ultraviolet, solarium |