
When it comes to skin cancer, pictures are worth a thousand words
Seeing pictures of skin cancer motivates people to regularly check their own moles.
Seeing pictures of skin cancer motivates people to regularly check their own moles.
By Media RelationsWATERLOO, Ont. (Thursday, August 1, 2013) – Seeing pictures of skin cancer motivates people to regularly check their own moles, according to a new research paper from the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of ݮƵ.
The paper, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, found that visual images of skin cancer are most effective in prompting skin self-examinations.
“Visual images capture our attention and are persuasive. They also help us to learn and remember,” said Professor Laurie Hoffman-Goetz, of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences and co-author on the paper.
The systematic review found that exposure to images of skin cancer motivated people to check their skin more frequently and accurately. The study found that providing text descriptions alone were not effective in aiding skin self-examination.
“Images motivate health behaviours in ways text does not,” said Jennifer McWhirter, a PhD candidate funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and co-author on the paper.
The paper’s findings could help inform patient education strategies and public health communication efforts.
“Skin self-examination plays an important role in detecting melanoma early. Many cases of melanoma are first detected by patients themselves,” said McWhirter.
“Incorporating images into clinical practice when educating patients can be a powerful tool in the fight against skin cancer.” said Professor Hoffman-Goetz.
Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in North America. In Canada, there are expected to be 6,000 new cases of melanoma--the most dangerous kind of skin cancer - and more than 81,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer this year alone.
Information on the early detection of skin cancer, including skin self-examination with example images, can be accessed through theɱٱ.
In just half a century, the University of ݮƵ, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. ݮƵ, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about ݮƵ, please visit.
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Nick Manning
University of ݮƵ
519-888-4451
nmanning@uwaterloo.ca
Attention broadcasters: ݮƵ has facilities to provide broadcast quality audio and video feeds with a double-ender studio. Please contact Nick Manning on 519-888-4451 or 226-929-7627 for more information.
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The University of ݮƵ acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.