Qualitative Sun Protection Research: Hajj Findings

According to PLoS One, a qualitative study published on November 11, 2026, sun protection during Hajj was limited by knowledge gaps, cultural interpretations, communication barriers, cost, availability, and clothing constraints. The study shows that qualitative sun protection research can explain why awareness does not always become protective behavior.

• The PLoS One study interviewed 29 people, including 16 Saudi pilgrims and 13 registered nurses, after the 2025 Hajj season.
• Researchers conducted the interviews through Zoom from June 20 to July 11, 2025, and analyzed the transcripts using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis.
• The PLoS One researchers identified five themes: physical and emotional effects, limited awareness, cultural influences, barriers to protection, and recommendations for improvement.
• Participants often understood sun exposure mainly as a heat risk, while knowledge of ultraviolet radiation, UPF-rated products, and the UV Index was limited.
• The study recommends multilingual education before and during Hajj, affordable protective products, and culturally appropriate communication that distinguishes heat-related illness from UV-related harm.

The PLoS One study used retrospective semi-structured interviews to examine awareness, attitudes, and behaviors related to sunscreen, UPF-rated clothing, umbrellas, and other sun-protection measures during Hajj.

The researchers interviewed 16 Saudi pilgrims and 13 registered nurses who had worked in hospitals in Makkah and Madinah. The interviews occurred from June 20 to July 11, 2025, within approximately one month of the 2025 Hajj season, so participants could describe recent experiences while still relying on recalled rather than directly observed behavior.

According to the PLoS One methods, three researchers independently coded an initial 20% sample of transcripts to develop a shared codebook. The research team then resolved coding discrepancies through discussion and refined five themes through iterative analysis.

The study included Arabic interviews for Saudi participants and an English interview for one non-Saudi nurse. According to the PLoS One article, a second bilingual researcher audited a random 20% sample of translated transcripts, and participants were invited to review their transcripts for accuracy.

The study’s design provides contextual depth, but the PLoS One authors caution that the sample included one pilgrim nationality and one Hajj season. The findings should therefore inform future research and intervention design rather than represent every international pilgrim.

The PLoS One findings show that participants recognized heat-related discomfort more readily than UV-specific harm. Participants described exhaustion, dizziness, dehydration, fainting, irritability, and stress, while sunburn and eye irritation were rarely discussed.

One pilgrim told the PLoS One researchers, “Everyone knows the sun is harmful, but I don’t think we understand how exactly.” The quotation illustrates the difference between general awareness and actionable knowledge about UV radiation, UPF labels, and the UV Index.

The study found that some participants viewed enduring heat as part of the spiritual challenge of Hajj. 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.” This finding suggests that effective messaging should work within cultural and religious contexts rather than treating those contexts as simple obstacles.

The PLoS One study also identified practical barriers, including forgotten umbrellas, heavy protective products, uncertain product availability, perceived cost, language differences, and clothing that was not breathable or UV protective. Nurses emphasized communication challenges with multilingual pilgrims, while pilgrims more often emphasized convenience, comfort, and access.

The participants’ recommendations centered on structured education before travel, multilingual and visual materials, improved access to affordable protective products, and culturally appropriate clothing. The study treated these recommendations as participant-generated priorities that require feasibility and impact testing.

Public health researchers should analyze heat protection and UV protection as related but distinct behaviors. The PLoS One study found that hydration, rest, and cooling address heat-related illness, while sunscreen and UPF-rated clothing or umbrellas address UV exposure; shade can contribute to protection from both hazards.

Health communication teams should measure whether participants understand protective instructions, not only whether participants have heard them. The PLoS One interviews showed that people could recognize the sun as harmful while remaining unfamiliar with UPF-rated products or the UV Index.

Nursing educators should include environmental health and sun-safety counseling in preparation for mass gatherings. According to the PLoS One findings, nurses were positioned to educate pilgrims but reported limited formal training and language barriers.

UX and service-design teams should translate qualitative themes into specific intervention requirements. For example, the study’s reports of forgotten umbrellas suggest testing reminders and distribution points, while reports of heavy products suggest testing lighter designs and culturally appropriate clothing.

Researchers should preserve participant language and context when analyzing translated interviews. The PLoS One study used bilingual translation checks and participant transcript review, showing why translation quality and member checking matter in multilingual qualitative research.

The 2026 PLoS One study shows why qualitative sun protection research must examine knowledge, culture, communication, product access, comfort, and lived experience together. The study’s 29 interviews produced five themes that can guide future Hajj health education and broader research on sun safety in mass gatherings.

AI-enabled qualitative analysis can help research teams move from large collections of transcripts to defensible themes, cross-group comparisons, searchable quotations, and actionable intervention requirements. Human researchers remain responsible for interpretation, ethical oversight, translation validation, and decisions about implementation.

Teams analyzing interviews, open-ended survey responses, or multilingual health documents can try Evidano for free to accelerate qualitative synthesis while keeping research judgment at the center.