CANCER-RESEARCH CAMPAIGN HEALTH-EDUCATION PROGRAM TO PROMOTE THE EARLY DETECTION OF CUTANEOUS MALIGNANT-MELANOMA .1. WORKLOAD AND REFERRAL PATTERNS

From 1987 to 1989 a campaign to promote the early detection of cutaneo us malignant melanoma was conducted in the areas of seven health autho rities in England and Scotland (total population 3.6 million), Data we re collected on 17,155 patients attending pigmented lesion clinics (PL Cs) in each study area during the campaign. After a dramatic rise in P LC referral rates in the first month of the campaign the average month ly referral rate among the target population in the study period settl ed to an average of 13 per 10(5), a twofold increase compared with the pre-campaign period, Over 85% of patients at all PLCs were seen withi n 4 weeks of referral from their general practitioners, The melanoma t o non-melanoma detection ratio was (1:33), The organization of future early detection initiatives needs careful review and planning, in orde r to improve their effectiveness in all sections of the population, an d to enable health services to cope with the increased work-load,