Massage therapists are uniquely positioned to identify skin cancer. Seminal work in 2013 revealed that 40% of massage therapists do not receive any training in skin cancer identification (Campbell et… Click to show full abstract
Massage therapists are uniquely positioned to identify skin cancer. Seminal work in 2013 revealed that 40% of massage therapists do not receive any training in skin cancer identification (Campbell et al. J Cancer Educ 28:158–164, 2013). Limited work has been published assessing optimal training methodologies to close this educational gap. We present the results of a study in which students were given access to a 30-min self-driven web-based learning module designed to teach the high yield points of melanoma demographics and clinical features. The students completed pre- and post-testing, the results of which indicated improved knowledge levels and improved confidence in detecting suspected melanoma. We conclude that a 30-min learning module may be sufficient to improve massage therapists’ ability and comfort level in identifying melanoma. The ease of delivery of web-based modules may make this an important approach in ensuring that massage therapists receive basic training in skin cancer identification.
               
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