Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe the development and preliminary testing of a new scale assessing knowledge about melanoma risk factors and early detection/secondary prevention. Data was drawn from a longitudinal study assessing barriers and facilitators of skin self- examination among patients diagnosed with melanoma. For the current analysis, 191 patients who completed the new 9-item Knowledge About Melanoma Early Detection Scale and other study measures were included. Exploratory factor analysis with were conducted, which identified a robust scale comprised of 6 items with factor loadings ranging from .56 to .81. Higher scores on the Knowledge About Melanoma Early Detection Scale were associated with younger age and more positive attitudes about melanoma prevention, but not with biological sex, education, melanoma stage, or past self-administered and physician-provided skin checks. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings and to further establish the predictive validity of this scale and its usefulness for health research.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available in the Open Science Framework repository at https://osf.io/au5tp/.
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Funding
The current study was funded by operating grants from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) awarded to Annett Körner. Adina Coroiu’s research training was supported by graduate and post graduate awards from FRQS and CIHR. Dr. Thombs was supported by a FRQS researcher salary award. The funding agencies had no bearing in the design and conduct of the study or the write-up and publication of the study results.
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AC, AK, BT Designed the study.
AC, CM, LK Conducted data analysis.
AC completed the first draft of the manuscript and incorporated feedback from co-authors.
CM, LK, BT, AK Contributed critical feedback to earlier drafts of the manuscript, reviewed, and approved the final draft of the manuscript.
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Coroiu, A., Moran, C., Kwakkenbos, L. et al. Validation of the “knowledge about melanoma early detection scale” in a sample of melanoma survivors. Curr Psychol 42, 185–193 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01366-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01366-7