Hajj Sun Safety: Qualitative Analysis Insights

The November 11, 2026 PLOS One study found that pilgrims and nurses understood sun exposure mainly as a heat-related problem, while knowledge of ultraviolet radiation, UPF-rated products, and the UV index remained limited. The full source is Sun protection awareness and ultraviolet protection factor product use among pilgrims and nurses during Hajj: A qualitative post-Hajj interview study.

The study shows why qualitative research is valuable for sun-safety programs: interviews connected health behavior to spiritual interpretations, cultural clothing norms, language barriers, product access, cost, and comfort.

• According to Qaladi and colleagues in PLOS One, interviews conducted from June 20 to July 11, 2025 included 16 Saudi pilgrims and 13 registered nurses.
• According to the November 11, 2026 study, researchers identified five major themes covering physical and emotional effects, knowledge gaps, cultural influences, barriers, and recommendations.
• According to the study, 26.9% of pilgrims in a cited 2025 Hajj health study did not use umbrellas in direct sunlight, indicating a measurable gap between exposure and protective behavior.
• According to the PLOS One findings, saturation was assessed separately for pilgrims and nurses, and the researchers judged saturation after 16 pilgrim interviews and 13 nurse interviews.
• According to participant accounts, pre-Hajj education, multilingual communication, affordable products, and culturally appropriate protective clothing were priority interventions.

The November 11, 2026 PLOS One study used retrospective, semi-structured Zoom interviews to explore awareness, attitudes, and behaviors related to sunscreen, UPF-rated clothing, umbrellas, and ultraviolet protection.

The researchers interviewed 29 people within approximately one month of the 2025 Hajj season: 16 Saudi pilgrims and 13 registered nurses who had worked in hospitals in Makkah and Madinah. The interviews lasted approximately 30 to 45 minutes, and Arabic transcripts were translated into English with an audit of a random 20% sample of translated transcripts.

The research team analyzed the interviews in NVivo 12.6 using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis approach. Three researchers independently coded an initial 20% sample, developed a shared codebook, and resolved disagreements through discussion and senior review.

The study identified a recurring distinction between heat and UV risk. Participants frequently described exhaustion, dizziness, dehydration, and fainting, which the authors characterize as heat-related symptoms, while UV-specific effects such as sunburn and eye irritation were rarely mentioned.

One pilgrim described the physical burden of exposure by saying, "The weather was hot, and, unfortunately, the sun was directly overhead... We felt tired and exhausted you feel like you can’t continue the remaining steps." A nurse similarly reported, "Some of my colleagues and pilgrims got heat exhaustion and fainted."

The study authors concluded that health messages should distinguish heat-related illness from UV-related harm because hydration, rest, and cooling address heat risk, while sunscreen and UPF-rated clothing or umbrellas address UV exposure.

Public health teams should design separate but coordinated messages for heat-related illness and ultraviolet exposure, because the November 11, 2026 PLOS One study found that participants often treated both risks as the same problem.

The study suggests that awareness campaigns should explain UPF and the UV index in plain language rather than assuming that any umbrella, garment, or covering provides equivalent UV protection. Participants commonly understood hydration and shade but did not understand how product materials or ratings affected protection.

Health educators should treat culture as a design requirement rather than a simple barrier. Qaladi and colleagues reported that some participants interpreted enduring heat as part of the spiritual challenge of Hajj, while other participants described umbrella use as increasingly accepted.

Mass-gathering health programs should address language and accessibility before pilgrims arrive. Nurses in the study reported difficulty communicating with people who did not speak Arabic or English, as well as with some pilgrims who had hearing or speech impairments.

Researchers should preserve subgroup differences during analysis. The study reported that nurses emphasized institutional training and communication barriers, while pilgrims more often emphasized cost, comfort, availability, and forgetting protective items.

Qualitative findings can inform intervention design, but the PLOS One authors cautioned that their sample included Saudi pilgrims from one Hajj season and did not represent the broader international pilgrim population. Future research should test whether these themes transfer across nationalities, languages, and Hajj seasons.

The November 11, 2026 PLOS One study demonstrates how qualitative interviews can explain the gap between recognizing sun exposure and adopting effective protection during Hajj. The study's 29 participants connected that gap to knowledge, culture, communication, affordability, access, and product design.

For public health researchers, the findings support multilingual pre-Hajj education that separates heat-related illness from UV-related harm. For qualitative teams, AI-enabled analysis can make multilingual transcript review and comparison more systematic while keeping human interpretation central.

Researchers who want to organize interviews, documents, and open-ended responses in one qualitative analysis workflow can try Evidano for free.