Study findings suggest that by including skin cancer presentation and screening-related content in cosmetology curricula, cosmetologists can be better prepared to screen their clients for suspicious skin lesions (J Cosmet Dermatol. 2020;19[1]:205-210).

“Approximately 50% of cutaneous melanomas go undetected by patient self-inspection, and lesions that go unnoticed are usually located on the scalp, head, and neck,” wrote Anna Radisic, BA, Scholarly Concentrations Program, Public Health Scholarly Concentration, USF Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, Florida, and colleagues, who posit that cosmetologists can examine areas on their clients that are difficult to see during self-inspection.

Thus, Ms Radisic et al created and carried out a cross-sectional study to determine whether an educational skin cancer screening presentation for cosmetology students could prove beneficial. They also sought to evaluate cosmetologist preparedness to discuss skin cancer with their clients.

The study took place in 2017 and assessed the efficacy of a skin cancer education presentation given to cosmetology students via pre- and post-presentation quizzes aimed at assessing skin cancer knowledge.

Ms Radisic and co-investigators used paired samples t test to analyze the difference between knowledge levels before and after the presentation.

There were 194 students from 7 cosmetology schools included in the study. Prior to observing the presentation, 43.4% of students felt that they were underprepared to check for unusual lesions on future clients whereas 17.7% felt some level of preparedness.

After viewing the presentation, 3% felt underprepared whereas 51% felt prepared, yielding a statistically significant difference between the skin cancer knowledge quiz total score before (M, 7.87; SD, 1.493) and after (M, 9.23; SD, 1.037) viewing the educational presentation (P <.0001).

“This study shows most cosmetology students in the Tampa Bay area appear to be interested in learning more about skin cancer and agree that curricula should include skin cancer topics,” Ms Radisic and colleagues wrote.

“Results of this study were limited to the Tampa Bay area and may not represent national trends. However, skin cancer presentation and screening-related content could be included in cosmetology curricula to help better prepare cosmetologists to screen for suspicious skin lesions,” they concluded.—Hina M. Porcelli