Evaluation of a training course for general practitioners within the melanoma multimedia education programme of the Italian Melanoma Intergroup: a study protocol


Published: 9 February 2024
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Authors

  • Ignazio Stanganelli Skin Cancer Unit, Romagna Cancer Institute, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) "Dino Amadori", Meldola, Forlì; Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6575-8785
  • Serena Magi Skin Cancer Unit, Romagna Cancer Institute, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) "Dino Amadori", Meldola, Forlì, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8082-336X
  • Lauro Bucchi Emilia-Romagna Cancer Registry, Romagna Cancer Institute, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) "Dino Amadori", Meldola, Forlì, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6771-8119
  • Emanuele Crocetti Emilia-Romagna Cancer Registry, Romagna Cancer Institute, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) "Dino Amadori", Meldola, Forlì, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4649-2034
  • Silvia Mancini Emilia-Romagna Cancer Registry, Romagna Cancer Institute, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) "Dino Amadori", Meldola, Forlì, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0673-3347
  • Rosa Vattiato Emilia-Romagna Cancer Registry, Romagna Cancer Institute, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) "Dino Amadori", Meldola, Forlì, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3283-7572
  • Stefano Falcinelli District of Ravenna, Romagna Local Health Unit, Ravenna, Italy.
  • Patrizia Re District of Ravenna, Romagna Local Health Unit, Ravenna, Italy. https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1772-0324
  • Davide Melandri Division of Dermatology, Cesena/Forlì AUSL Romagna, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3746-308X
  • Marco Brusasco Dermatology Unit, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1176-7197
  • Sara Gandini Department of Experimental Oncology, IEO European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
  • Fabio Falcini Emilia-Romagna Cancer Registry, Romagna Cancer Institute, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) "Dino Amadori", Meldola, Forlì; Cancer Prevention Unit, ASL Forlì (FC), Italy.
  • Federica Zamagni Emilia-Romagna Cancer Registry, Romagna Cancer Institute, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) "Dino Amadori", Meldola, Forlì, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6129-6656
  • FAD MelaMEd Working Group Maria Antonietta Pizzichetta (Aviano, Trieste), Stefania Stucci, Marco Tucci (Bari), Vincenzo De Giorgi, Daniela Massi (Firenze), Paola Ghiorzo, Cesare Massone, Enrica Tanda (Genova), Francesco de Rosa, Matelda Medri (Meldola), Roberto Patuzzo (Milano), Corrado Caracò, Marco Palla (Napoli), Alessio Fabozzi (Padova), Mario Mandalà (Perugia), Riccardo Marconcini (Pisa), Paolo Fava, Elena Marra, Pietro Quaglino, Simone Ribero (Torino) for the development of educational contents, Italy.

The text discusses the role of general practitioners (GPs) in the prevention and early diagnosis of melanoma, a type of skin cancer. It highlights the need for GPs to be able to recognize suspicious skin lesions and refer patients to specialist dermatology centers. However, many GPs lack comprehensive training in diagnosing melanoma. The text mentions that various training courses have been conducted for GPs, but their impact on clinical practice has been limited. The MelaMEd Programme is an e-learning course developed by the Italian Melanoma Intergroup (IMI). The programme aims to provide GPs with comprehensive knowledge of melanoma prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. It includes an e-learning section, and a dedicated platform called MelaMEd platform, which offers a multimedia atlas of melanoma. The objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of the MelaMEd programme on GPs’ diagnostic accuracy, knowledge of melanoma, and management of suspicious lesions. The methodology involves administering pre-training and post-training questionnaires to participants, assessing their diagnostic skills and evaluating the training course’s effectiveness. The study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the MelaMEd programme in improving GPs’ ability to recognize and manage melanoma. It also seeks to identify areas for improvement and recommend interventions to enhance diagnostic accuracy. The results will be analyzed statistically using descriptive, univariate, and multivariate analysed methods.


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Stanganelli, I., Magi, S., Bucchi, L., Crocetti, E., Mancini, S., Vattiato, R., Falcinelli, S., Re, P., Melandri, D., Brusasco, M., Gandini, S., Falcini, F., Zamagni, F., & Working Group, F. M. (2024). Evaluation of a training course for general practitioners within the melanoma multimedia education programme of the Italian Melanoma Intergroup: a study protocol. Dermatology Reports, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/dr.2024.9919

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