Consumer preference and willingness-to-pay for direct-to-consumer mobile-teledermoscopy services in Australia

Objective: To investigate consumer preference and willingness to pay for mobile teledermoscopy services in Australia. Methods: Consumers who were taking part in a randomised controlled trial comparing mobile teledermoscopy and skin self-examination were asked to complete a survey which incorporated a discrete choice experiment (DCE) and a contingent valuation question. Responses were used to determine their willingness to pay for mobile teledermoscopy services in Australia and their overall service preferences. Results: The 199 consumers who responded were 71% female and had a mean age of 42 years (range, 18–73). The DCE results showed that consumers prefer a trained medical professional to be involved in their skin cancer screening. Consumers were willing to pay AUD 41 to change from a general practitioner reviewing their lesions in-person to having a dermatologist reviewing the teledermoscopy images. Additionally, they were willing to pay for services that had shorter waiting times, that reduced the time away from their usual activities, and that have higher accuracy and lower likelihood of unnecessary excision of a skin lesion. When asked directly about their willingness to pay for a teledermoscopy service using a contingent valuation question, the majority (73%) of consumers selected the lowest two value brackets of AUD 1–20 or AUD 21–40. Conclusion: Consumers are willing to pay out of pocket to access services with attributes such as a dermatologist review, improved accuracy, and fewer excisions

Screening for melanoma: Patient acceptance of patient-initiated and performed mobile teledermoscopy

The best outcomes for melanoma are achieved through early detection. A novel technology, mobile teledermoscopy, allows individuals to take pictures of their nevi with a specialised camera attachment for their smartphone and send them to a teledermatologist for remote diagnosis. Currently, it is unknown whether consumers would accept such technology compared to in-person consultations. Reliability and validity tests were conducted on a 27-item questionnaire. Findings suggest mobile teledermoscopy acceptance appears high. Based on a principal components analysis, patient motivations are grouped in to four factors: enablers; trust and usefulness; social indicators and practicality; and ease of use

Screening for melanoma: Patient acceptance of patient-initiated and performed mobile teledermoscopy

The best outcomes for melanoma are achieved through early detection. A novel technology, mobile teledermoscopy, allows individuals to take pictures of their nevi with a specialised camera attachment for their smartphone and send them to a teledermatologist for remote diagnosis. Currently, it is unknown whether consumers would accept such technology compared to in-person consultations. Reliability and validity tests were conducted on a 27-item questionnaire. Findings suggest mobile teledermoscopy acceptance appears high. Based on a principal components analysis, patient motivations are grouped in to four factors: enablers; trust and usefulness; social indicators and practicality; and ease of use

Promoting sunscreen use in adolescents playing outdoor sports using UV detection stickers

Sunscreen is a popular form of sun protection and when applied sufficiently (2 mg/cm) has been shown to block the harmful molecular effects of ultraviolet radiation (UV). This field study tested the effectiveness of UV detection stickers to improve sunscreen use. During a rugby league two-day sporting event (28–29 February 2020) in Queensland, Australia interested players 14–18 years old were provided with access to free sunscreen on DAY-1 and during the subsequent day (DAY-2) were provided with a free UV detection sticker and access to sunscreen. On DAY-2, one UV detection sticker was handed out to 550 attendees. The sunscreen bottles were weighted periodically by research staff throughout both event days. Primary outcomes were sunscreen usage. Overall, 868 g of sunscreen was used across both DAY-1 and DAY-2, with 19% (167 g) of sunscreen used on DAY-1 and 81% (701 g) of sunscreen used on DAY-2. This resulted in a >3-fold improvement in sunscreen use on DAY-2 when the UV detection stickers were provided. We found UV detection stickers may improve use of sunscreen in adolescents during sporting events in high UV environments

Using social media to determine the affective and cognitive components of tweets about sunburn

Background: The relationship between social media usage and the public's expressions of sunburn remains unexplored. This study is a content analysis of Twitter that was performed to identify the public's expressions, perceptions, and attitudes towards sunburn. Methods: Qualitative content analysis was conducted on tweets by Australian Twitter users during January 2007 and January 2016. Out of 2,000 tweets available, in-depth content analysis of 200 random tweets was performed. Results: Tweets in this study were categorised into 10 distinct themes, three of which were cognitive (fact based) and seven affective (emotional), while one was miscellaneous. Results reveal that tweets about sunburn overwhelmingly contained affective as opposed to cognitive components. In addition, the sentiments contained in the affective tweets were frequently positively (68.9%) rather than negatively valanced (31.1%). While humour was the most common theme (n = 68 tweets), many tweets also expressed a link between Australian national identity and sunburn (n = 25 tweets). Conclusion: Many of the tweets analysed contained positive affective sentiments such as joy, rather than worry or concern, suggesting an avenue for further health promotion research

Unintended sunburn after sunscreen application: an exploratory study of sun protection

Issue addressed This study explores the experiences of adults aged 18 years and older who received an unintended sunburn while wearing sunscreen and examines why the application of sunscreen as a sun protection measure did not work as intended. Methods Qualitative content analysis was conducted on 11 interviews with people living in Australia who had received an unintended sunburn. Data were collected from July 2017 to January 2018. Twelve participants took part in individual semi-structured interviews either face-to-face or over the telephone, and 11 participants met the eligibility criteria and were included for analysis. Results The themes that emerged included experience of disbelief after sunburn; sunburn after water-based activity; inaccurate sunscreen application; sunscreen acceptability and trust; discomfort in application, opportunistic sun exposure; aesthetically motivated behaviour; normative beliefs; and lack of awareness of recent sun safety campaigns. Conclusion Participants perceived themselves as well protected from sun exposure and were surprised they received a sunburn. We found that participants did not reapply sunscreen often enough, especially before and during water activities and overestimated the amount of time they could be safely exposed to the sun. So what? The findings of this study suggest a greater need for sun protection education on how to effectively use and apply sunscreen to avoid sunburn and skin cancer. This study explores the experiences of adults aged 18 years and older who received an unintended sunburn while wearing sunscreen and examines why the application of sunscreen as a sun protection measure did not work as intended. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on 11 interviews with people living in Australia who had received an unintended sunburn

Smart handwashing station: field study

Hand hygiene is one of the most effective ways to remove germs, prevent the spread of infectious pathogens, and avoid getting sick. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, health authorities have been advocating good hand hygiene practices.The primary aim of this study is to field test a prototype smart handwashing station deployed in a school setting during the COVID-19 pandemic.We deployed a smart handwashing station and examined key technological considerations including connectivity, security, and data management systems, as well as the health and safety of users.The smart handwashing station was deployed for 10 days in a school setting in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The smart handwashing station's electrical components remained operational during field testing and underwent robust cleaning protocols each day. The handwashing station was used 1138 times during the field test and there was no COVID-19 transmission at the school during the testing.This study demonstrates that a personalized feedback approach using technology can successfully be implemented at a school and can provide a platform to improve hand hygiene among school-aged children

Interventions to decrease skin cancer risk in outdoor workers: update to a 2007 systematic review

BACKGROUND: Outdoor workers are at high risk of harmful ultraviolet radiation exposure and are identified as an at risk group for the development of skin cancer. This systematic evidence based review provides an update to a previous review published in 2007 about interventions for the prevention of skin cancer in outdoor workers. RESULTS: This review includes interventions published between 2007-2012 and presents findings about sun protection behaviours and/or objective measures of skin cancer risk. Six papers met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Large studies with extended follow-up times demonstrated the efficacy of educational and multi-component interventions to increase sun protection, with some higher use of personal protective equipment such as sunscreen. However, there is less evidence for the effectiveness of policy or specific intervention components. CONCLUSIONS: Further research aimed at improving overall attitudes towards sun protection in outdoor workers is needed to provide an overarching framework

Lesion selection by melanoma high-risk consumers during skin self-examination using mobile teledermoscopy [Letter]

Mobile teledermatoscopy (MTD) for the early detection of skin cancer uses smartphones with dermatoscope attachments to magnify, capture, and transfer images remotely.1 Using the asymmetry–color variation (AC) rule, consumers achieve dermoscopy sensitivity of 92.9% to 94.0% and specificity of 62.0% to 64.2% for melanoma.2 This pilot randomized trial assessed lesions of concern selected by consumers at high risk of melanoma using MTD plus the AC rule (intervention, n = 10) or the AC rule alone (control, n = 12) during skin self-examination (SSE). Also measured were lesion location patterns, lesions overlooked by participants, provisional clinical diagnoses, likelihood of malignant tumor, and participant pressure to excise lesions

Internet of things smart sunscreen station: descriptive proof-of-concept study

Background: Skin cancer is the most prevalent but also most preventable cancer in Australia. Outdoor workers are at increased risk of developing skin cancer, and improvements in sun protection are needed. Sunscreen, when applied at the recommended concentration (2 mg/cm(2)), has been shown to block the harmful molecular effects of ultraviolet radiation in vivo. However, sunscreen is often not applied, reapplied sufficiently, or stored adequately to yield protection and reduce sunburns.Objective: The primary aim of this study was to test an Internet of Things approach by deploying a smart sunscreen station to an outdoor regional mining site.Methods: We deployed a smart sunscreen station and examined the key technological considerations including connectivity, security, and data management systems.Results: The smart sunscreen station was deployed for 12 days at a mining workplace (Dalby, Australia). The smart sunscreen station's electrical components remained operational during field testing, and data were received by the message queuing telemetry transport server automatically at the end of each day of field testing (12/12 days, 100% connectivity).Conclusions: This study highlights that an Internet of Things technology approach can successfully measure sunscreen usage and temperature storage conditions