Skin cancer screening by dermatologists, family practitioners, and internists: barriers and facilitating factors. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • OBJECTIVE: To determine barriers and facilitating factors to skin cancer screening practices among US primary care physicians and dermatologists. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: Physicians randomly selected from the American Medical Association's Medical Marketing Services database from April 1 through November 30, 2005. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2999 US dermatologists, family practitioners, and internists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Results based on 1669 surveys returned regarding practice characteristics, skin cancer screening behaviors, and barriers and facilitating factors to performing full-body skin examinations for patients. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 59.2%. More dermatologists (552 [81.3%]) reported performing full-body skin examinations on patients than did family practitioners (333 [59.6%]) (P < .05) or internists (243 [56.4%]) (P < .05). Among all physicians, time constraints, competing comorbidities, and patient embarrassment were reported as the top 3 barriers to performing full-body skin examinations, and these barriers were different among medical specialties. Among all physicians, having patients at high risk for skin cancer, patient demand for complete examination/mole check, and the influence of medical training were reported as facilitating factors to performing full-body skin examinations. CONCLUSION: Becoming more knowledgeable about physician barriers to skin cancer screening could help improve primary and secondary practices in both the primary care and dermatology settings.

publication date

  • January 1, 2011

Research

keywords

  • Attitude to Health
  • Mass Screening
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians'
  • Skin Neoplasms

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 78751552544

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1001/archdermatol.2010.414

PubMed ID

  • 21242390

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 147

issue

  • 1