Majority of Hairdressers Wish to Learn More About Skin Cancer Detection

Gibbs DC, Ng S, Baranowski MLH, Reddy S, Bederman A, Bean MB, Eisenstadt R, Chen SC. Skin cancer surveillance practices and attitudes among hairdressers: A cross-sectional study in Atlanta, Georgia. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2023 Jan;88(1):155-158. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2019.07.034. Epub 2019 Jul 17. PMID: 31325550; PMCID: PMC7374908.

An overwhelming majority (93%) of participants wished to learn more about skin cancer detection while 73% believed hairdressers should be trained in skin cancer detection.

Clinical Pearls

• This study surveyed hairdressers in Atlanta, GA to investigate their opinions towards skin cancer detection

• 229 participants responded to the survey with the majority being female (82%) and white (86%)

• An overwhelming majority (93%) of participants wished to learn more about skin cancer detection while 73% believed hairdressers should be trained in skin cancer detection.

Discussion:

Early detection of skin cancer can be critical in preventing poor outcomes. In addition to annual skin-checks and visits with dermatologists, there is an opportunity for other professions to perform skin cancer surveillance. This descriptive study aimed to investigate skin cancer knowledge, surveillance practices, and attitudes among hairdressers in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area.

The study design involved distributing surveys during August-September 2017 to 15 salons randomly selected within 30 miles from Emory University. The response rate was 80% with 229 surveys completed by hairdressers from 12 different salons. The majority of respondents were female (82%) and white (86%). Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to investigate factor’s associated with hairdressers’ opinions toward skin cancer detection while adjusting for age, sex, and factors associated with the outcome.

The results of this study showed 73% of hairdressers believe they should be trained in skin cancer detection, however, only 40% believed this training should be required. Moreover, hairdressers who discussed skin cancer with clients in the past were more than two times more likely (odds ratio: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.34-3.63) to agree with detection training for hairdressers as opposed to those who had not. Additionally, an overwhelming majority (93%) of respondents wanted to learn more about skin cancer detection. The results of this study support the role and interest of hairdressers in recognizing skin cancer. One weakness of this study is a lack of generalizability given the hairdressers were from only one community. Additionally, future studies may better characterize how hairdressers inspect patients for skin cancer and which areas they examine.