Exploring perceptions of and attitudes towards tanning with school children, parents/carers and educators in Wales: A mixed methods study protocol for the SunChat study

Background Skin cancer comprises half of all cancers in England and Wales. Most skin cancers can be prevented with safer sun exposure. As over exposure as a child can greatly increase future skin cancer risk, early and accessible sun safe education and promotion of sun safe behaviours is critical. Scientists agree there is no such thing as a ‘safe tan’, yet the public, including children, often have positive perceptions of tanned skin. To protect against future skin cancer, it is important to understand and address these misconceptions. The Curriculum for Wales with its area for Health and Well-being, and autonomy for schools in designing curriculum content, presents an ideal way to facilitate this exploration. Aims Gather data regarding perceptions towards tanning to explore the perceived effects of a tan on health. Inform the development and testing of a pilot toolkit for integration within the Curriculum for Wales to encourage positive health behaviours and attitudes of school children towards tanning and sun exposure. Methods SunChat is a mixed methods exploratory study comprising three work streams: Workshops with school children to understand their perceptions on tanning. An online multiple-choice survey with parents/carers to understand perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards tanning both for themselves and their children. An informal focus group with primary school educators to explore challenges in engaging with the school community around the Health and Well-being Area in the Curriculum for Wales. Discussion To date, there has been no work in Wales exploring children’s, parents/carers’, and educators’ perceptions of tanning and how healthier attitudes can be encouraged. This study will engage with children, parents/carers, and primary school educators to scope current tanning perceptions and the perceived effects tanning has on health, to feed into future toolkit and curriculum development for health in schools in Wales and beyond.