Presenters: MaeLin Sorenson, College of Public and Community Health, Community Health Education
Authors: MaeLin Sorenson, Madeline Moyle, Grethel Becerra, Alan Nichols
Faculty Advisors: Mary Brown, College of Public and Community Health, Community Health
Institution: Utah Valley University
According to the Utah Department of Health (2019), the state of Utah has consistently been ranked the highest in the U.S. in terms of cases of melanoma. Skin cancer awareness has been shown to be effective in reducing deaths due to melanoma. The SCAN (Skin Cancer AwareNess) program is intended to train hairdressers and barbers to identify suspicious lesions and to feel confident in having a conversation with a client to make a referral to a dermatology provider. This session will outline how a team of public health students and faculty in Utah County worked together to conduct an assessment using both primary and secondary data. In addition, the session will outline the national training that is available through Eyes on Cancer (n.d), and how the program has been adapted to those in the state of Utah. The presenters will outline some of the challenges of conducting the assessment and training during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as some creative ways they were able to reach their target audience. Finally, the presenters will share several of their brief training videos designed to increase the self-efficacy of hairdressers and barbers in having a sometimes-difficult conversation with a client who may have a suspicious lesion. The SCAN program, though only a year old, shows an evident promising future, and the next steps and goals will also be outlined.