A pilot study examining skin cancer education in an underserved population at a free skin cancer screening

Herbert B Castillo Valladares; Alison K Lee; Shayan Cheraghlou; Amanda Zhou; Sarika Ramachandran

doi:10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.06.007

A pilot study examining skin cancer education in an underserved population at a free skin cancer screening

Int J Womens Dermatol. 2020 Jun 26;7(2):184-186. doi: 10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.06.007. eCollection 2021 Mar.

Authors

Herbert B Castillo Valladares¹, Alison K Lee², Shayan Cheraghlou³, Amanda Zhou³, Sarika Ramachandran⁴

Affiliations

¹ Dermatology Department, UCSF, United States.
² Dermatology Dept, University of Michigan, United States.
³ Yale School of Medicine, United States.
⁴ Department of Dermatology, Yale School of Medicine, United States.

Abstract

Background: Minority populations are increasingly diagnosed with skin cancer and often in later stages with more aggressive subtypes.

Objective: We sought to pilot a study to evaluate the effectiveness of providing a skin cancer screening and education module to address potential barriers to dermatologic care for an underserved population in New Haven, Connecticut.

Methods: At a free clinic, voluntary adults (n = 24) waiting for a skin cancer screening were recruited and consented to participate. Participants completed a 16-question survey prior to the total body-skin examination and the educational module, as well as a survey after the examination.

Results: Most participants were uninsured (79%) and Hispanic (71%). Pre- and postintervention surveys indicated significant increases in knowledge, risk awareness, and confidence for self-screening.

Conclusion: This study establishes an effective public health education intervention to promote the prevention of skin cancer. A multicenter study with a larger sample size and longer follow-up period to assess knowledge retention could further address limitations in this initial pilot study.

Keywords: Access; Skin cancer; Uninsured.