Impact of the war on melanoma educational campaign on melanoma literacy in Oregon

Summary: The War on Melanoma^TM(WoM) literacy surveys assessed the impact of a health promotion campaign in Oregon aimed at improving early melanoma detection through community education. A baseline survey conducted in 2019 assessed the public’s existing melanoma knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. These served as indicators of melanoma literacy and performance of self-skin exams (SSEs). Between 2019 and 2022, the WoM intervention (an early detection education campaign) was carried out through multiple health advertising campaigns and educational efforts across a variety of media platforms. After the intervention, a follow-up survey was conducted, including the original baseline questions and additional items designed to measure the campaign's reach and its effect on melanoma literacy. The surveys targeted 3 groups: the intervention group, consisting of Oregon (OR) and Southwest Washington (SW WA) (where the campaign took place), and 2 control groups comprising the rest of Washington (WA) and Utah (UT). Sampling weights were used to ensure that the final sample was representative of the population of the included states. Regression models were used to examine the association between self-reported messaging exposure and melanoma literacy outcomes. Demographic characteristics of survey respondents were similar across both surveys and similar across all regions. On a population level, OR+SW WA overall literacy levels remained unchanged after the campaign, but 73% of those who reported seeing messaging also reported SSE behavior, compared with 56% who did not report seeing messaging. In all states, significantly more individuals exposed to melanoma-related messages reported engaging in SSEs, suggesting that targeted awareness campaigns may influence SSE behavior. Justin Ng¹, Jacob Nelson¹, Emile Latour¹, Jane Lange¹, Brian Detweiler-Bedell², Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell², Elizabeth Stoos¹, Jack Wiedrick¹, Elizabeth Berry¹, Ruth Etzioni³, Jodi Lapidus¹, Tayler Tobey¹, Sancy Leachman¹ 1. Dermatology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States. 2. Psychology, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR, United States. 3. Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States. Clinical Research: Epidemiology and Observational Research