Using an electronic self-completion tool to identify patients at increased risk of melanoma in Australian primary care.
More than 15,000 cases of melanoma are projected to be diagnosed in Australia in 2019. Yet, despite international guidelines recommending a risk-based approach to screening for melanoma, few have suggested methods to account for multiple risk factors, or to implement risk-based screening in practice. This study investigated the acceptability and feasibility of identifying patients at increased risk of melanoma in Australian general practice using a self-completed risk assessment tool. Acceptability and feasibility was measured by the proportion of people willing to participate, and by the number of people able to complete the tool without assistance, respectively. Stratification of risk was based on the validated Williams melanoma risk prediction model. The study results revealed that 1,535 participants completed the risk assessment tool (91.7%), and only 200 participants (13%) required assistance to complete the tool. The Williams model estimated between 5% and 19% of the sample were at increased risk, which accounted for an estimated 30% to 60% of future melanomas. These findings demonstrate that a risk-stratified tool using the Williams model was acceptable and feasible for patients to self-complete in general practice clinics. In future, this could be an effective method to implement risk-based melanoma screening and prevention in primary care.Â