Educated patients more likely to ID melanoma

Cleveland - Patients who undergo an interactive education program, including skin self-examination (SSE) tutorials and telecommunications reminders, are more likely to identify melanoma, according to a recently published study.

Researchers from University Hospitals Case Medical Center outpatient dermatology clinics enrolled 132 adult patients in the study. The participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. Data was collected initially and after three months of enrollment.

The intervention group took part in a multifaceted education program consisting of a computer-assisted tutorial, a hands-on SSE tutorial, monthly reminders to perform SSEs for 12 weeks and reading a pamphlet on melanoma detection.

After three months, members of the intervention group were more likely to perform SSEs and more likely to report confidence in their ability to correctly identify melanoma during a self-examination.

The study was published in the Archives of Dermatology.

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