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Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional online survey

Ali Haider Mohammed, Bassam Abdul Rasool Hassan, Yen Jun Wong, Loh Hui Ying, Marcus Loh Boon Hong, Annabel Wong Sze Nee, Lo Siew Ying, Dinesh Sangarran Ramachandram, Hawar Sardar Hassan, Lee Jia Jia, Juman Al-Dujaili Orcid Logo, Ali Blebil Orcid Logo

BMJ Open, Volume: 16, Issue: 2, Start page: e103040

Swansea University Authors: Juman Al-Dujaili Orcid Logo, Ali Blebil Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-103040

Abstract

Objectives To assess the levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults and to examine differences in KAP across socio-demographic groups.Design Cross-sectional online survey.Setting Community-based study conducted in Malaysia using social med...

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Published in: BMJ Open
ISSN: 2044-6055 2044-6055
Published: BMJ 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71407
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fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2026-03-19T13:56:00.3702553</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>71407</id><entry>2026-02-12</entry><title>Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional online survey</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>47d192c8bb46dd4c0cc72bbfea4210ec</sid><ORCID>0000-0002-7515-5344</ORCID><firstname>Juman</firstname><surname>Al-Dujaili</surname><name>Juman Al-Dujaili</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>ae3f126adda1dec7b84f0a12698f0b7d</sid><ORCID>0000-0002-7480-1260</ORCID><firstname>Ali</firstname><surname>Blebil</surname><name>Ali Blebil</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2026-02-12</date><deptcode>MEDS</deptcode><abstract>Objectives To assess the levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults and to examine differences in KAP across socio-demographic groups.Design Cross-sectional online survey.Setting Community-based study conducted in Malaysia using social media recruitment.Participants A total of 386 adults aged &#x2265;18 years residing in Malaysia. Most participants were young adults (86.3%), female (55.4%) and of Chinese ethnicity (65.5%). Healthcare professionals were excluded.Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcomes were levels of knowledge, attitude and preventive practices toward skin cancer, measured using the validated KAP-SC-Q (Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Skin Cancer Questionnaire) and categorised as poor, moderate or good. Secondary outcomes included differences in KAP across socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, analysed using independent t-tests and &#x3C7;2 tests.Results Over half of participants demonstrated poor knowledge of skin cancer (56.0%) and the vast majority showed inadequate preventive practices (84.2%), while attitudes toward skin cancer were predominantly positive (62.4%). Significant differences in mean KAP scores and categorical levels were observed across several socio-demographic variables. Participants with tertiary education had higher knowledge (14.32 vs 12.61) and attitude scores (20.01 vs 15.95; p&lt;0.001) than those with lower education. Individuals with a diagnosis of skin disease had significantly higher knowledge (14.95 vs 13.03; p=0.001), attitude (20.03 vs 18.21; p=0.007) and practice scores (12.10 vs 9.72; p&lt;0.001). Personal history of skin cancer and severe sunburn was associated with better preventive practices but poorer attitudes (p&lt;0.001), and light-skinned participants were more likely to have poor knowledge and attitudes (p&lt;0.05).Conclusions Malaysian adults exhibited limited knowledge and very poor preventive practices toward skin cancer despite generally positive attitudes. 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spelling 2026-03-19T13:56:00.3702553 v2 71407 2026-02-12 Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional online survey 47d192c8bb46dd4c0cc72bbfea4210ec 0000-0002-7515-5344 Juman Al-Dujaili Juman Al-Dujaili true false ae3f126adda1dec7b84f0a12698f0b7d 0000-0002-7480-1260 Ali Blebil Ali Blebil true false 2026-02-12 MEDS Objectives To assess the levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults and to examine differences in KAP across socio-demographic groups.Design Cross-sectional online survey.Setting Community-based study conducted in Malaysia using social media recruitment.Participants A total of 386 adults aged ≥18 years residing in Malaysia. Most participants were young adults (86.3%), female (55.4%) and of Chinese ethnicity (65.5%). Healthcare professionals were excluded.Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcomes were levels of knowledge, attitude and preventive practices toward skin cancer, measured using the validated KAP-SC-Q (Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Skin Cancer Questionnaire) and categorised as poor, moderate or good. Secondary outcomes included differences in KAP across socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, analysed using independent t-tests and χ2 tests.Results Over half of participants demonstrated poor knowledge of skin cancer (56.0%) and the vast majority showed inadequate preventive practices (84.2%), while attitudes toward skin cancer were predominantly positive (62.4%). Significant differences in mean KAP scores and categorical levels were observed across several socio-demographic variables. Participants with tertiary education had higher knowledge (14.32 vs 12.61) and attitude scores (20.01 vs 15.95; p<0.001) than those with lower education. Individuals with a diagnosis of skin disease had significantly higher knowledge (14.95 vs 13.03; p=0.001), attitude (20.03 vs 18.21; p=0.007) and practice scores (12.10 vs 9.72; p<0.001). Personal history of skin cancer and severe sunburn was associated with better preventive practices but poorer attitudes (p<0.001), and light-skinned participants were more likely to have poor knowledge and attitudes (p<0.05).Conclusions Malaysian adults exhibited limited knowledge and very poor preventive practices toward skin cancer despite generally positive attitudes. These findings highlight substantial gaps between awareness and behaviour and support the need for targeted public health interventions to correct misconceptions, improve risk perception especially in high-risk groups and promote effective ultraviolet protection behaviours. Journal Article BMJ Open 16 2 e103040 BMJ 2044-6055 2044-6055 22 2 2026 2026-02-22 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-103040 COLLEGE NANME Medical School COLLEGE CODE MEDS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) 2026-03-19T13:56:00.3702553 2026-02-12T12:41:40.2169880 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Swansea University Medical School - Pharmacy Ali Haider Mohammed 1 Bassam Abdul Rasool Hassan 2 Yen Jun Wong 3 Loh Hui Ying 4 Marcus Loh Boon Hong 5 Annabel Wong Sze Nee 6 Lo Siew Ying 7 Dinesh Sangarran Ramachandram 8 Hawar Sardar Hassan 9 Lee Jia Jia 10 Juman Al-Dujaili 0000-0002-7515-5344 11 Ali Blebil 0000-0002-7480-1260 12 71407__36440__14372d0e92a244c3bff60511972044b5.pdf 71407.VoR.pdf 2026-03-19T13:52:47.0637016 Output 366606 application/pdf Version of Record true © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional online survey
spellingShingle Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional online survey
Juman Al-Dujaili
Ali Blebil
title_short Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional online survey
title_full Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional online survey
title_fullStr Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional online survey
title_full_unstemmed Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional online survey
title_sort Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults: a cross-sectional online survey
author_id_str_mv 47d192c8bb46dd4c0cc72bbfea4210ec
ae3f126adda1dec7b84f0a12698f0b7d
author_id_fullname_str_mv 47d192c8bb46dd4c0cc72bbfea4210ec_***_Juman Al-Dujaili
ae3f126adda1dec7b84f0a12698f0b7d_***_Ali Blebil
author Juman Al-Dujaili
Ali Blebil
author2 Ali Haider Mohammed
Bassam Abdul Rasool Hassan
Yen Jun Wong
Loh Hui Ying
Marcus Loh Boon Hong
Annabel Wong Sze Nee
Lo Siew Ying
Dinesh Sangarran Ramachandram
Hawar Sardar Hassan
Lee Jia Jia
Juman Al-Dujaili
Ali Blebil
format Journal article
container_title BMJ Open
container_volume 16
container_issue 2
container_start_page e103040
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 2044-6055
2044-6055
doi_str_mv 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-103040
publisher BMJ
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str Swansea University Medical School - Pharmacy{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Swansea University Medical School - Pharmacy
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Objectives To assess the levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) toward skin cancer prevention among Malaysian adults and to examine differences in KAP across socio-demographic groups.Design Cross-sectional online survey.Setting Community-based study conducted in Malaysia using social media recruitment.Participants A total of 386 adults aged ≥18 years residing in Malaysia. Most participants were young adults (86.3%), female (55.4%) and of Chinese ethnicity (65.5%). Healthcare professionals were excluded.Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcomes were levels of knowledge, attitude and preventive practices toward skin cancer, measured using the validated KAP-SC-Q (Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Skin Cancer Questionnaire) and categorised as poor, moderate or good. Secondary outcomes included differences in KAP across socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, analysed using independent t-tests and χ2 tests.Results Over half of participants demonstrated poor knowledge of skin cancer (56.0%) and the vast majority showed inadequate preventive practices (84.2%), while attitudes toward skin cancer were predominantly positive (62.4%). Significant differences in mean KAP scores and categorical levels were observed across several socio-demographic variables. Participants with tertiary education had higher knowledge (14.32 vs 12.61) and attitude scores (20.01 vs 15.95; p<0.001) than those with lower education. Individuals with a diagnosis of skin disease had significantly higher knowledge (14.95 vs 13.03; p=0.001), attitude (20.03 vs 18.21; p=0.007) and practice scores (12.10 vs 9.72; p<0.001). Personal history of skin cancer and severe sunburn was associated with better preventive practices but poorer attitudes (p<0.001), and light-skinned participants were more likely to have poor knowledge and attitudes (p<0.05).Conclusions Malaysian adults exhibited limited knowledge and very poor preventive practices toward skin cancer despite generally positive attitudes. These findings highlight substantial gaps between awareness and behaviour and support the need for targeted public health interventions to correct misconceptions, improve risk perception especially in high-risk groups and promote effective ultraviolet protection behaviours.
published_date 2026-02-22T05:34:00Z
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score 11.100225

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