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Brief Questions Highlight the Need for Melanoma Information Campaigns

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Abstract

Melanoma awareness was briefly assessed at walk/runs held simultaneously in Philadelphia PA, Phoenix AZ, and Seattle WA. Of the participants, 75 % (1521) answered short questions during event registration. Among 1,036 respondents aged 14 years and older, 66 % reported knowing melanoma warning signs. Significantly more respondents with melanoma family history reported having a physician-administered skin exam and knowing warning signs. More than one third of walk/run participants reported no definitive melanoma warning sign knowledge. Self-reported melanoma awareness and detection indices were lowest among Phoenix participants; the event city with the greatest annual sun exposure. Educational efforts for melanoma awareness are critically needed. Selected results of this project were presented in a poster forum at the 2006 Congress for Epidemiology meeting held in Seattle, WA (June 2006).

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the time and effort of Ms. Wendy Chapman who managed and de-identified the data for analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arizona Cancer Center, Skin Cancer Institute, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA

    Janet A. Foote

  2. Melanoma International Foundation, 250 Mapleflower Rd, Glenmoore, Philadelphia, PA, 19343, USA

    Catherine M. Poole

  3. Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, 714 E Van Buren Street, Ste #119, Phoenix, AZ, 85006, USA

    Janet A. Foote

Authors
  1. Janet A. Foote
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  2. Catherine M. Poole
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Correspondence to Janet A. Foote.

Additional information

Selected results of this project were presented in a poster forum at the 2006 Congress for Epidemiology meeting held in Seattle, WA (June 2006).

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Foote, J.A., Poole, C.M. Brief Questions Highlight the Need for Melanoma Information Campaigns. J Canc Educ 28, 611–616 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-013-0537-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-013-0537-2

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