SBIR-STTR Award

Elderly women and men are at higher risk for developing skin cancers, as a result of their increased cumulative exposure to ultraviolet radiation, and their depressed immune system functioning relative to younger persons. Interactive multimedia materials providing information about skin lesions and teaching early detection skills will be developed for target groups of elderly. Social cognitive principles and social marketing techniques will be incorporated in the program to engage, motivate, educate, and maintain behavioral change in older adults. Focus group and individual interviews will be used in the development and pilot testing of the educational materials. Program content will include information about risk factors for skin cancers, strategies for promoting skin examinations, examples of pre cancerous and cancerous lesions, and techniques for self examination and examination of the skin of others. Both videodisc and CD ROM storage media will be tested. Qualitative and quantitative research techniques will be used in the creation, formative evaluation, and revision of teaching materials. A summative evaluation examining the effectiveness of the program and the cost benefit characteristics of the product will take place during the next phase of the research.Commercial ApplicationsElderly persons are at higher risk for skin cancers, but they are not well informed about how to detect and identify lesions. This interactive multimedia program will be marketed to HMO' s, physicians in dermatology and primary care practices, geriatric clinics in hospitals, and to elderly related segments of the general population. We anticipate that the product will be effective, will represent a low cost screening option, and will be made available through multiple distribution channels.National Cancer Institute (NCI)

A randomized clinical trial will be conducted to test the effectiveness of an interactive health education program in promoting skin cancer prevention and regular skin examination behaviors in middle-aged and elderly populations. The program will be evaluated with high-risk skin cancer patients, medium-risk internal medicine patients, and low-risk wellness program participants. The study will take place in a tertiary care medical center, a primary care office practice, and over a corporate intranet. Both CD-ROM and network based versions of the multimedia program will be tested. Program content includes information about skin cancer rates, skin examination methods, assistance in identifying lesions, instruction in how to repair sun-damaged skin, and advice about preventive strategies, as well as linkages to Internet-based health education sites. Behavior change and behavioral self-management methods are included in the program. Social marketing principles have also been used to promote, enable, and maintain skin protective and skin screening behaviors. Outcome measures will include skin cancer knowledge measures, stage of change categorizations, and self-efficacy ratings, along with patient record data on use of diagnostic and treatment services and related costs.

Thesaurus Terms:
cancer prevention, computer system design /evaluation, interactive multimedia, neoplasm /cancer education, skin neoplasm Internet, behavior therapy, clinical trial, neoplasm /cancer classification /staging, neoplasm /cancer diagnosis, optical data storage, self care, solar radiation, ultraviolet radiation clinical research, human subject, interview