General practitioner and patient response during a public education program to encourage skin examinations

Objective: To describe the response of general practitioners (GPs) and patients during the 1991 National Skin Cancer Awareness Week media campaign. Design: Skin examinations in general practices in three representative regional towns in Queensland were monitored for five weeks around the time of the campaign and participating GPs were personally interviewed. Outcome measures: Number and type of consultations in which the skin was examined for cancer before, during and after the campaign, and GPs' attitudes and beliefs about skin checks. Results: The 46 GPs (47%) who participated, representing 60% of the practices, conducted 1805 consultations in which the skin was examined for cancer. The number of consultations in which skin examinations were conducted by each GP increased by 56% during the campaign. Skin checks were nearly always initiated by the patient (90%), and in only half of all cases was the examination given as the primary reason for the consultation. Sixty-two per cent of lesions were considered to be clinically benign. Conclusion: Public education programs may have an impact on the level of skin examinations requested in general practice consultations. Currently, patients are the principal initiators of such examinations during consultations - there is potential to increase the active role played by GPs in support of patient requests for the early detection of skin cancer