Qualitative Sun Protection Research: Hajj Insights

According to the PLOS One study, qualitative interviews conducted after the 2025 Hajj found that pilgrims and nurses recognized sun exposure as a serious challenge but often understood it primarily as a heat problem rather than a separate ultraviolet radiation risk.

The study shows that effective sun-safety interventions require more than general awareness messages. Researchers identified five themes involving physical and emotional effects, knowledge gaps, cultural influences, practical barriers, and participant recommendations.

• Researchers interviewed 29 participants, including 16 Saudi pilgrims and 13 registered nurses, between June 20 and July 11, 2025.
• The research team identified five major themes through thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke's six-phase approach.
• The participants described limited understanding of ultraviolet protection factor, or UPF, products and the difference between ordinary and UV-protective umbrellas and clothing.
• Participants identified cost, availability, discomfort, cultural clothing norms, forgetting protective items, and language differences as barriers to sun protection during Hajj.
• The study's participants prioritized structured education before and during Hajj, multilingual communication, affordable protective products, and culturally appropriate clothing.

The 2026 PLOS One study used a qualitative descriptive design to examine awareness, attitudes, and behaviors related to UV protection among Hajj pilgrims and nurses. The researchers conducted retrospective, semi-structured interviews through Zoom within approximately one month of the 2025 Hajj season.

The study included 16 Saudi pilgrims and 13 registered nurses who had worked in hospitals in Makkah and Madinah. The research team conducted interviews in Arabic with the Saudi participants and in English with one non-Saudi nurse, then translated the Arabic transcripts into English and independently audited a random 20% sample of translated transcripts.

The study authors analyzed the interviews in NVivo 12.6. Three researchers independently coded an initial 20% sample, developed a shared codebook, and used consensus discussions to resolve coding differences. The analysis followed Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic approach, while Lincoln and Guba's criteria guided the assessment of qualitative trustworthiness.

One participant 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." The quotation illustrates why the study distinguished heat-related illness from UV-related harm rather than treating all sun exposure effects as one phenomenon.

Qualitative analysis adds context to Hajj health research by explaining the beliefs and circumstances behind protective behavior. The 2026 PLOS One interviews found that some participants viewed enduring heat as part of the spiritual challenge of Hajj, while others described umbrella use as increasingly socially accepted.

The study found that participants often knew that the sun could be harmful but could not explain how UV radiation affected the body or how UPF labels worked. One nurse said, "Honestly, I have no knowledge about UV-protection products, " while another said it was the "first time I heard about UPF."

The findings also show why segment comparison matters. According to the study authors, nurses emphasized systemic and communication barriers, including language differences and limited formal training, while pilgrims more often emphasized cost, comfort, access, and forgetting protective items.

The study reported that one nurse described language as "The biggest challenge" when explaining health guidance to pilgrims who did not understand Arabic or English. The quotation points to a communication design problem that multilingual materials and visual messages could address.

For public health researchers, the practical lesson is to code not only whether participants use protection, but also how they define risk, which products they trust, what prevents use, and which messages fit local cultural and religious contexts.

The 2026 PLOS One study demonstrates how qualitative sun protection research can reveal the cultural, practical, and communication factors behind health behavior during Hajj. The study's 29 interviews show that public health interventions must distinguish UV exposure from heat-related illness and must address language, affordability, product design, spiritual interpretation, and access.

AI-enabled qualitative analysis can help research teams process interview transcripts more efficiently while preserving a structured path from participant language to themes and recommendations. Evidano supports thematic, frequency, and cross-segment analysis for interview and document-based research, with tools for multilingual workflows and AI-assisted exploration.

Researchers can try Evidano for free to organize qualitative data and accelerate evidence-based thematic analysis.