EFFECTS OF TYPE OF INFORMATION IN HEALTH-EDUCATION BROCHURES UPON PERFORMANCE ON AN EXPERIMENTAL MELANOMA DETECTION TASK

Improved health education has the potential to increase the proportion of people with early melanoma presenting to doctors. This study was designed to evaluate experimentally the effects of various types and amounts of information on early melanoma detection. One hundred and fifty-one subjects assessed 157 skin lesions on 34 separate photographs of areas of skin and marked those for which they would seek medical attention if they found it on their skin. They were then provided with one of five different experimental brochures and using the information in the brochure repeated the lesion-marking task. An overall increase in sensitivity was found. Specificity and predictive value both were better when more information was provided. Thus, provision of concise and relevant information about melanoma, perhaps accompanied by colour photographs, and information about nonmelanoma lesions provided the best overall detection of melanoma from photographs of skin lesions. Brochures providing such information have the potential to improve the predictive value of skin self-examination for melanoma detection.