Search results

The incidences of skin cancer have been rising worldwide due to excessive exposure to sunlight. Increase in exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight results in skin damage such as sunburn, premature skin ageing, allergies and skin cancer. Medical experts suggest several means of protection against ultraviolet radiation, including use of sunscreens, avoidance of the sun at its highest intensities, and wearing clothing that covers as much of the skin surface as possible. This paper provides insight on how UV absorbers can be efficiently used with textile material to protect human skin from harmful UV radiation. The manufacturers of various UV absorbers and their commercial products are reviewed and discussed. The interacting mechanism of UV absorbers with textile clothing for providing UV protection and an evaluation of the performance of UV absorbers are summarized.

This study aims to explore the risk and protective factors of abuse on older adults by family caregivers, with a special focus on the protective role of caregiver resilience in elder abuse.

This cross-sectional survey was conducted on a purposive sample of 600 family caregivers of community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong (mean age = 71.04 and female = 67.2%). Caregivers reported in a guided interview about elder abuse behaviours, caregiver burden, care recipients’ agitated behaviours, caregiver resilience, self-efficacy, social support and basic demographic characteristics. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictors of different forms of elder abuse.

Caregiver resilience was predictive of lower levels of verbal abuse, physical abuse, injury and financial exploitation but not potentially harmful behaviour (PHB). Social support was independent with all forms of elder abuse, while self-efficacy predicted greater physical abuse after the adjustment of confounding variables. Caregiver burden and agitated behaviours by care recipients remained as significant risk factors in the final models when protective factors were considered.

This study extends current knowledge on the protecting role of resilience in elder abuse in family caregiving. Mixed findings revealed on social support and self-efficacy also highlight the complexity of the prediction of caregiver abuse. Further research should address this area.

The findings of this study warrant the inclusion of caregiver resilience as a key component in developing interventions to prevent elder abuse. Addressing caregiver burden and agitated behaviours have the potential in preventing elder abuse.

The findings raise awareness of the importance of supporting caregivers in the community to prevent elder abuse.

Research concerning the protective factors of elder abuse is in a preliminary stage. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first which successfully demonstrates the protective role of resilience in caregiver abuse on older adults. The findings shed invaluable light on the design of effective interventions.

To examine whether awareness of the source of sun protection campaigns in New South Wales, Australia was associated with message recall and sun protection knowledge and behaviours.

Telephone surveys of random samples (n=800) of parents and other carers of children under 12 years of age were conducted before and after the first two campaigns and after the third campaign.

Recognition of the NSW Cancer Council (NSWCC) as the message source increased after each campaign. Cross‐sectional analyses revealed that after the first and third campaigns those who could identify the NSWCC were 1.4‐1.7 times more likely than those who could not to demonstrate knowledge about child sun protection practices (p<0.05). After the first campaign those with accurate message source awareness were 1.4 times more likely to report using sunscreen or clothing to protect their children, while after campaign three this awareness was associated with a greater likelihood (OR 1.6, p<0.05) of using hats, sunscreen and protective clothing.

While causality cannot be determined using a cross‐sectional design, the use of serial population surveys to analyse the relationship between message source awareness and sun protection knowledge and behaviours strengthens the basis for examining the role of this factor.

Presenting a readily identifiable and credible message source is likely to enhance the impact of health campaigns and this factor should be given attention in the pre‐testing of communications.

The importance of a credible communication source has been postulated by various theorists, but this one of few studies to examine the role played this factor in a population‐wide, health promotion campaign.

The purpose of the population‐based study in the paper is to report on progress in formulating instruments to measure children's resilience and associated protective factors in family, primary school and community contexts.

In this paper a total of 2,794 students, 1,558 parents/caregivers, and 465 staff were surveyed in October 2003. A cross‐sectional research method was used for the data collection. Three surveys (student survey, parent/caregiver survey, and staff survey) were developed and modified to measure student resilience and associated protective factors. Exploratory factor analysis with Oblimin rotation and confirmatory factor analysis were used to analyse the reliability and validity of the scales of the three surveys.

The surveys in this paper find good construct validity and internal consistency for the social support scale of parent/caregiver survey, which had been modified from previous studies. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a goodness of fit for the following scales: student resilience scale of the student survey; the school organisation and climate scale and family functioning scale of the parent/caregiver survey; and the health‐promoting school scale and social capital scale of the staff survey.

The paper specifies aspects of the resilience concept within a holistic or socio‐ecological setting. Measures of validity and reliability indicate that these instruments have the sensitivity to elucidate the complexity of both the resilience concept and the intricacy of working within the multi‐layered world of the school environment.

This paper provides health educators and researchers with reliable and valid resilience measures, which can be used as guidelines in implementing evaluation programmes for the health‐promoting school project and the prevention of mental health problems in children.

There is a growing demand in the marketplace for textile apparel that offers comfort and protection from the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The UV rays of the sun when they come into contact with skin lead to all kinds of skin problems. The accumulated effects damage the skin’s DNA and cell function. In addition to skin cancer, excessive sun exposure also causes pre-malignant actinic keratoses, wrinkles, dark and unsightly blotches, leathery skin and prone to destabilizing the immune system. Research has shown that sun (UV) protective clothing is one of the most effective ways to protect against skin cancer. Such fabrics are specifically designed for sun protection by covering a maximum amount of skin and made from a fabric rated for its level of UV protection. Throwing on a sun protective shirt with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 30+ value is a proactive decision, which can simply help to live a healthier life. Hence, an attempt has been made in this study to visualize the effect of an application of titanium dioxide nano finish onto cotton and its blends with viscose and polyester to provide nano UV protection, without hampering the strength of the substrate.

This review deals with the pros and cons of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on human beings and the role of textile clothing and the chemicals used for textiles to protect from their harmful effects.

UV radiation (UVR) which has further divided into UVA, UVB, and UVC. Almost 100% of UVC and major portion of UVB are bounced back to stratosphere by ozone layer while UVA enters the earth atmosphere. Excessive exposure of solar or artificial UVR exhibit potential risks to human health. UVR is a major carcinogen and excessive exposure of solar radiation in sunlight can cause cancer in the lip, skin squamous cell, basal cell and cutaneous melanoma, particularly in people with the fair skin.

This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the harmful effects of UVR on human skin, factors affecting UV irradiance and factors affecting UV protection offered by textile clothing.

Effect of fiber properties, yarn properties, fabric construction, fabric treatments and laundering has been reviewed along with the identification of gaps in the reported research. A comparison of inorganic and organic UV absorbers has also been given along with different testing and evaluation methods for UV protective clothing.

The primary aim of the research reported here is to provide strategic guidance for the development of a national communication strategy to improve sun protection practice amongst young people.

The research adopted an exploratory approach, employing qualitative focus groups to represent three population groups, mothers, teenagers and young adults living independently of the family home. A total of 12 focus groups were conducted (with six to eight participants per group) in the UK. Participants were recruited door‐to‐door using quota sampling methods.

Consistent with other studies, awareness of sun protection measures was high compared with actual practice. A number of factors were identified which help to explain this behaviour deficit. These include environment and exposure context, financial cost, understanding of protection process, behavioural influence and control, experiential learning and benefits attached to tanning.

While the findings highlight the importance of supporting parents through the provision of information and guidance, they also identified a need to develop initiatives specifically tailored to meet the needs of young people as they achieve independence.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

This paper presents an initial development of a personal data attitude (PDA) measurement instrument based on established psychometric principles. The aim of the research was to develop a reliable measurement scale for quantifying and comparing attitudes towards personal data that can be incorporated into cybersecurity behavioural research models. Such a scale has become necessary for understanding individuals’ attitudes towards specific sets of data, as more technologies are being designed to harvest, collate, share and analyse personal data.

An initial set of 34 five-point Likert-style items were developed with eight subscales and administered to participants online. The data collected were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and MANOVA. The results are consistent with the multidimensionality of attitude theories and suggest that the adopted methodology for the study is appropriate for future research with a more representative sample.

Factor analysis of 247 responses identified six constructs of individuals’ attitude towards personal data: protective behaviour, privacy concerns, cost-benefit, awareness, responsibility and security. This paper illustrates how the PDA scale can be a useful guide for information security research and design by briefly discussing the factor structure of the PDA and related results.

This study addresses a genuine gap in research by taking the first step towards establishing empirical evidence for dimensions underlying personal data attitudes. It also adds a significant benchmark to a growing body of literature on understanding and modelling computer users’ security behaviours.

Few developers of school‐based health education programs actively involve the primary and secondary target audience in their program’s development. Kidskin was a sun protection intervention study involving a cohort of 1,776 children recruited from 33 primary schools in Perth, Western Australia. A formative evaluation to develop the Kidskin sun safety classroom and home education program for grades 1 to 4 children and their families was conducted. Process data collected from teachers revealed high levels of satisfaction with the program with the majority agreeing that the activities were developmentally appropriate, effective and enjoyable for students. Mailouts to students’ homes, reinforcing sun safety messages, were used to successfully reach most students and their families during the summer school holidays.