Developing the readiness to alter sun-protective behaviour questionnaire (RASP-B)

Background: Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer of any country in the world, even though the risk of contracting the disease can be lowered considerably by engaging in appropriate sun-protective behaviours. We aimed to construct and validate a questionnaire to assess the readiness of a group of mostly young people to change their levels of sun-protective behaviour by assigning them to a stage of change based on the transtheoretical model of behaviour change. Method: A sample of 122 undergraduate students in Queensland, Australia completed the readiness to alter sun-protective behaviour questionnaire (the RASP-B, a 12-item questionnaire about their attitudes toward sun-protection), in addition to a short questionnaire about their current sun-protective behaviours. Results: A principal component analysis revealed a clear three-factor structure corresponding to the precontemplation, contemplation, and action stages of the transtheoretical model. Participants in the action stage reported engaging in significantly higher levels of sun-protective behaviour than participants in the earlier precontemplation and contemplation stages. These behaviours included avoiding exposure to direct sunlight by wearing long-sleeved clothing and remaining in the shade or indoors. Participants in the different stages reported no significant differences in the reported frequency of sunscreen use, although respondents across all three stages reported using sunscreen infrequently. Conclusion: The RASP-B requires approximately 5 min to complete, can be self-administered and has satisfactory psychometric properties, and thus has utility in primary health care settings where time and client–practitioner contact are often limited.