What Hajj Interviews Reveal: Qualitative Analysis of Sun Protection

According to the PLoS ONE study published on November 11, 2026, sun protection during Hajj is limited by knowledge gaps, cultural interpretations, communication problems, cost, availability, and discomfort. The study shows why qualitative analysis of sun protection must examine both what participants know and how social context shapes behavior.

• Qaladi and colleagues interviewed 29 people, including 16 Saudi pilgrims and 13 registered nurses, after the 2025 Hajj season.
• The researchers conducted interviews via Zoom between June 20 and July 11, 2025, and identified five major themes.
• Participants often understood sun exposure primarily as a heat problem, while ultraviolet-specific concepts such as UPF and the UV Index were poorly understood.
• One earlier study cited by Qaladi and colleagues found that 26.9% of pilgrims did not use umbrellas in direct sunlight, indicating a measurable gap between risk and protective behavior.
• The study recommends multilingual, culturally appropriate education before and during Hajj, alongside better access to affordable protective products.

The qualitative analysis found that Hajj participants recognized intense sun exposure as harmful but often lacked specific knowledge about ultraviolet protection. Qaladi et al. reported five themes: physical and emotional effects, limited awareness, cultural influences, practical barriers, and recommendations for improvement.

According to Qaladi et al., participants frequently described exhaustion, dizziness, dehydration, and fainting, which are heat-related experiences rather than direct descriptions of UV damage. The distinction matters because hydration, rest, and cooling address heat-related illness, while sunscreen and UPF-rated clothing or umbrellas address UV exposure.

The interviews also showed that participants did not consistently understand the difference between ordinary and UPF-rated products. One nurse told the researchers, "Honestly, I have no knowledge about UV-protection products." Another participant said, "I didn’t even know there are special fabrics for blocking UV rays."

Qaladi et al. found that cultural and religious interpretations influenced behavior. Some participants viewed enduring heat as part of the spiritual challenge of Hajj, while others described umbrella use as increasingly accepted. One nurse explained, "Some elderly pilgrims believe enduring the sun is part of the spiritual challenge; they think the harder it is, the greater the reward."

The study also identified barriers that researchers should preserve during coding rather than reduce to a generic category such as noncompliance. Nurses described language and communication difficulties, while pilgrims emphasized cost, product availability, forgetfulness, physical discomfort, and clothing constraints.

The authors reported that Arabic interviews were translated into English, that an independent researcher audited a random 20% sample of translated transcripts, and that participants were invited to review their transcripts. These procedures show why translation quality, member checking, and audit trails remain important when AI tools assist qualitative research.

Public health teams should design sun protection interventions around distinct risks, cultural context, and practical barriers, according to the findings reported by Qaladi et al. The study does not establish that one intervention will work for every pilgrim population because its pilgrim sample included only Saudi nationals and covered one Hajj season.

• Separate heat and UV messages: Qaladi et al. found that participants often equated sun exposure with heat, so educational materials should explain that hydration and cooling do not replace UV protection.
• Analyze participant groups separately: The study reported that nurses emphasized systemic and communication barriers, while pilgrims more often described cost, comfort, and forgetting protective items.
• Preserve culturally specific meaning: The researchers found that spiritual interpretations affected sun protection decisions, making culturally responsive messaging more appropriate than purely technical instructions.
• Code communication barriers precisely: Qaladi et al. described language differences and the need for sign-language support, which can be lost when researchers merge all barriers into one category.
• Treat recommendations as hypotheses: The study proposed pre-travel education, multilingual resources, and accessible protective products, but the authors noted that these ideas require feasibility and impact testing.

The 2026 PLoS ONE study by Qaladi and colleagues shows that qualitative analysis of sun protection can reveal barriers that quantitative measures alone may not explain, including spiritual interpretations, language differences, product confusion, and physical discomfort. The study's 29 interviews produced five themes that connect individual experiences with practical public health recommendations. AI qualitative research analysis can help teams organize comparable interview datasets, compare participant segments, and retrieve evidence more efficiently, provided researchers retain human oversight and document their analytical decisions. Researchers who want to accelerate transcript and document analysis can try Evidano for free.