Cosmetology Students and Skin Cancer

The incidence of melanoma is increasing the USA. The early detection of skin cancer is
associated with a significant decrease in morbidity and mortality. Hair professionals
(cosmetologists and barbers) have an excellent opportunity to detect suspicious skin lesions
on the scalp, neck, and face due to routinely looking at this area during customer visits.
Currently in Arkansas, cosmetology schools teach students about how to recognize skin cancer
on their clients. In this program, the aim was to improve the educational module for skin
cancer in schools of cosmetology in Arkansas. In the proposed study, the intervention
training module was designed to increase the knowledge of cosmetology schools students about
skin cancer will be evaluated. It was hypothesized that this educational video will educate
cosmetology students and cosmetologists about how to prevent skin cancer, how to recognize a
suspicious spot or mole which may be a skin cancer, and how to talk with clients about seeing
a dermatologist when a suspicious spot is found. This study was a cluster-randomized
controlled trial in cosmetology schools in Arkansas. The institutional review board for human
subjects at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences determined that this study was
approved as exempt and submission was not required since it was an educational intervention
to improve the quality of an educational component of the existing curriculum.

Inclusion Criteria:

- For Schools: the school director agrees to participate and provide written consent

- For Students: Students were eligible at the enrolled schools if they agreed in writing
to participate, filled out the baseline questionnaire, and viewed the assigned video.

Exclusion Criteria:

- The school had not recently or was not currently implementing a similar program.