A pilot study using nurse education as an intervention to increase skin self-examination for melanoma

Background. A pilot study of an intervention using nurse education for skin serf-examination (SSE) was conducted in order to determine specific factor s that would be important for the design of a larger intervention. Methods. Seventy-five subjects completed a pretest, a posttest, a thorough skin exa mination by a dermatologist, and an educational session by a nurse. Results . Results showed that the subjects increased the frequency of SSE to a pred etermined optimal frequency of once every one to two months. Increases in o ptimal SSE were associated with increases in knowledge about melanoma (p = 0.006). Conclusions. Before intensive campaigns are launched to improve SSE , models incorporating theories of behavioral change should be tested.