Caroline Coeckelbergh - never too old for sun protection

Caroline based her findings on the determinants study from her master’s thesis ‘A qualitative exploration of sun protection behaviour and underlying socio-cognitive determinants in Dutch and Belgian Elderly’. “My supervisor gave me a list of broad topics to choose from. UV protection was one of them, and I focused my research on the determinants of sun protection among older adults.”

To better understand why skin cancer is becoming increasingly common in older adults, Caroline set out to analyse the behaviour of this target group. She found her participants at the ‘Maastricht Senior Choir’. “Everyone was willing to participate, which was encouraging. Based on this willingness, I had initially expected the results to be less concerning.”

The interviews showed that older adults do acknowledge the link between sun exposure and skin cancer, but they tend to avoid using sunscreen or wearing clothes that fully cover the skin. “Sunscreen is often perceived as something impractical and leaves them with a greasy feeling. What’s striking is that these people are strict when it comes to making sure their grandchildren wear sunscreen. So there is awareness, but because of their age, they no longer feel vulnerable enough to act on it.”

Caroline explored this perception using the determinants of the Health Belief Model. “This model looks at people’s perception of the risk of a disease, the pros and cons of taking preventive action, and the kind of cues that are needed to trigger that action.” She learned about this model during the master’s in Health Education and Promotion.

The quality of Caroline’s thesis was so high that Francine Schneider, her supervisor, submitted it for the annual Unilever Research Award, a prize for master’s theses that contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. She was selected as one of the winners and represented Maastricht University.

Francine: "Caroline approached this subject with great enthusiasm and drive, took an extremely energetic and creative approach to recruitment, and carried out, analysed and reported the research with great precision and thoroughness. And, in addition, she is also a very pleasant, positive person to work with."

“It was a rewarding way to conclude what had been an incredibly enriching  year", Caroline states. "Choosing the master’s in Health Education and Promotion was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I did my bachelor’s in nutrition science, but thanks to this master’s, I can now view health in a broader context than food. My fellow students had a wide range of academic backgrounds, which makes working on cases all the more interesting.”

After graduating, Caroline joined the Vlaams Instituut Gezond Leven as a staff member in the nutrition team. “I’m working on a European project in which we explore how to encourage healthy and sustainable eating habits in the home. During my master’s, I learned how to communicate complex information in an accessible way for different target groups. My future isn’t fully mapped out yet, but I’d love to continue developing and designing interventions.”