Do Digital Visual Aids Improve Skin Self-Examination Behaviours? A Systematic Review
Health Education & Behavior·
- DOI
- 10.1177/10901981261479324
- PMID
- —
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- —
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
Skin self-examination represents a secondary prevention approach for early skin cancer detection. Digital visual aids such as smartphone applications may support broader uptake and maintenance of these examination behaviors.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The review investigated whether digital visual aids with lesion monitoring capabilities improve skin self-examination behaviors and associated health outcomes.
Study design
This was a systematic review using six databases, analyzing data via an adapted Technological Acceptance Model framework. The included evidence base comprised 19 randomized controlled trials or nested designs plus one non-nested cross-sectional study.
Population and setting
Studies were conducted in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Australia, with individual study sample sizes ranging from 19 to 1,000 participants.
Main findings
Across included studies, digital visual aids were associated with improvements in knowledge (6 studies), perceived usefulness (5 studies), ease of use (7 studies), attitudes toward skin self-examination (13 studies), and intention to perform regular examination (5 studies). Most studies reported positive overall health outcomes, with only two studies noting increased anxiety or worry following the intervention. Three of seven studies found increased likelihood of detecting malignant lesions when using digitally aided examination.
Public-health relevance
Skin self-examination represents a secondary prevention approach for early skin cancer detection. Digital visual aids such as smartphone applications may support broader uptake and maintenance of these examination behaviors.
Important limitations
The abstract does not explicitly state study limitations. This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
This systematic review represents a peer-reviewed synthesis of digital intervention evidence for skin self-examination behaviors across three countries. The literature base appears indexed and discoverable through standard health education databases.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 5 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.