Participant satisfaction and value in American Academy of Dermatology and American Cancer Society skin cancer screening programs in Massachusetts.

Abstract

More than 1 million Americans have attended the American Academy of Dermatology's Melanoma/Skin Cancer Screening Programs since 1985. However, there have been no reports of the participants' perceived value, satisfaction, and benefits of skin cancer screening. We attempted to measure the benefits and subsequent screening practices of persons with presumptive positive screening diagnoses. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to participants with positive screening diagnoses in Massachusetts. Of the 643 respondents, 81% rated their satisfaction as high and 84% had similar ratings for the value of the screening. Screenings apparently led to an increase in self-screening (60% before screening compared with 84% after screening). Although screening appears to have relatively strong benefits, further studies should be conducted nationally.