Knowledge and behavior of Lebanese parents regarding melanoma prevention in public and private school children

AIM: Assess the knowledge and behavior of Lebanese parents when it comes to melanoma and its prevention in children. METHODS: A survey, to be completed by parents, was sent through children from three schools. RESULTS: During sun exposure only 23.5% of 1012 respondents were always covering enough areas of their children's skin and 74.1% did not always apply sunscreen to their children. Parents of private school children were three times more likely to apply sunscreen to their children when exposed to sun, four times more likely to reapply sunscreen every 2–3 h and 21 times more likely to use a higher sun protection factor. CONCLUSION: Sun protection in children is insufficient and sunburns are frequent, illustrating the need for melanoma awareness campaigns.