Journal of the American Pharmacists Association
Science and PracticeResearchSCAN! A pharmacy-based, sun safety feasibility study
Section snippets
Background
Skin cancers are the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States.1 Each year, approximately 5.4 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer (including squamous and basal cell carcinomas) are diagnosed.1 Although melanoma is less common, it is more deadly with estimates of new cases and deaths in 2020 being 100,350 and 6850, respectively.1 The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that counseling for skin cancer prevention includes pediatric, adolescent, adult, and senior
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility39 and preliminary impact of a novel skin cancer intervention in community pharmacy, Skin Cancer Awareness Now! (SCAN!). The DCM will serve as a framework for development of the intervention and as an assessment framework to help understand the preliminary impact of the intervention. We anticipate that our careful attention to behavioral theory and CLAS standards will ultimately yield a useful intervention.
Participants
Eligible individuals were aged 18 years and older and able to read/write in English. Potentially eligible participants were those presenting to the pharmacy counter for prescription drop-off/pick-up, medication counseling, or other current screening services (e.g., immunization, diabetes). Potential participants eligible for the study were recruited by pharmacists (n = 7) and student pharmacists/resident (n = 6) in participating pharmacies in West Virginia (n = 3). Student pharmacists completed
Results
A total of 90 participants (men: 15.5%; women: 84.5%) at Appalachian community pharmacies participated in a pilot study of the SCAN! intervention. The mean age was 43.8 (range 19-78) years. The average level of education fell in the range of “some college,” with education ranging from grade school to graduate degree. Some had missing data for family income or number of household members, making an assessment of poverty level difficult. The average family income fell in the range of
Discussion
Our study explored the feasibility and the preliminary impact of a novel pharmacy-based skin cancer intervention, SCAN!, among a medically underserved population in Appalachia. The ultimate goal of our intervention was to raise awareness about the benefits of skin cancer prevention and decrease the risk of cancer in a medically underserved community. To begin, we were able to recruit our population of interest in the study. Approximately 16% of our sample fell in the poverty range, and many had
Conclusion
The hallmarks of SCAN! were its acceptability and ease of administration among the community pharmacists, the student pharmacists, and the participants. The findings of increased sun safety knowledge, importance, and intentions, particularly for those most in need, suggest that this intervention warrants a larger scale application. The DCM helped to guide intervention design and analysis of its impact, evidencing the potential of this model for community pharmacy intervention, and was
Acknowledgments
We thank the following individuals for their contributions to the study: Inderjit Mehmi, MD; Treah Haggerty, MD; Lena Maynor, PharmD; Lauren Nicole Luci, PharmD; Sean Clark, PharmD; Michelle Amena, PharmD; Michael Mauk, PharmD; Lisa Hostutler, PharmD; Zachary Bryner; Emily Vince; Asa Rickets; Matthew Pletcher, PharmD; and Jared Lapkowicz, PharmD.
Kimberly M. Kelly, PhD, MS, Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
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Cited by (0)
Kimberly M. Kelly, PhD, MS, Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Trupti Dhumal, MS, Teaching Assistant, Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Virginia G. Scott, BSPharm, PhD, Professor and Director of Continuing Education, Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Yves Paul Vincent Mbous, MEng, Teaching Assistant, Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Marissa Chotiner, BS, Research Assistant, Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Roxann Powers, MD, FACP, Professor, Dermatology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Tara Whetsel, PharmD, Clinical Associate Professor, Clinical Pharmacy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Fnu Safarudin, PharmD, Teaching Assistant, Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Paul Cornelius, MBA, PharmD, Postdoctoral Fellow, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Horsham, PA
Gretchen Garofoli, PharmD, Associate Professor, Clinical Pharmacy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Disclosure: The authors declare no relevant conflicts of interest or financial relationships.
Funding: West Virginia University Community Engagement Grant (grant number; 283).
Previous presentation: Some content of this proposal was presented as an abstract at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, March 8, 2019.
Institutional review board approval: Protocol approval was sought and obtained from the institutional review board of West Virginia University.