Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: May 18, 2022
Date Accepted: Oct 18, 2022
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Facebook Intervention for Young Onset Melanoma Patients and Families: Protocol for the Young Melanoma Families Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Individuals diagnosed with melanoma before the age of 40 (young onset melanoma survivors) and their first-degree relatives are a growing population at risk for developing a recurrence and/or new melanomas. Regular surveillance by clinical skin exams (CSE) and skin-self-exams (SSE) and engagement in preventive behaviors including sun protection are recommended. Given the growing population of survivors and their family who are at increased risk, it is surprising that there are no behavioral interventions have been developed and evaluated to improve risk reduction behaviors.
Objective:
The aim of this protocol is to describe the rationale and methodology for a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of a Facebook intervention that provides information, goal setting, and peer support to increase CSE, SSE, and sun protection behaviors for young onset melanoma survivors and their FDRs.
Methods:
This study aims to recruit 583 survivors and 577 FDRs randomly assigned to either the Young Melanoma Family Facebook Group or the Melanoma Family Healthy Lifestyle Facebook Group condition. Participants complete measures of CSE, SSE, sun protection, and as mediator measures of relevant attitudes and beliefs pre- and post-intervention. The primary aim is to evaluate the impact of the Young Melanoma Family Facebook intervention versus the Melanoma Family Healthy Lifestyle Facebook intervention on CSE, SSE frequency and comprehensiveness, and sun protection among FDRs. Secondary aims examine the efficacy of the Young Melanoma Family Facebook intervention on survivors’ SSE frequency and comprehensiveness and sun protection behaviors and evaluating mechanisms of intervention efficacy for intervention impact on FDR and survivor outcomes. An exploratory aim evaluates the efficacy of the Melanoma Family Healthy Lifestyle Facebook intervention versus the Young Melanoma Family Facebook intervention on perceived stress, physical activity, and healthy eating patterns among FDRs and survivors.
Results:
Multilevel modeling treating family as the upper-level sampling unit and individual as the lower-level sampling unit will be the primary data analytic approach used to address these aims. Fixed effect predictors in these models will include condition, role (parent, sibling, survivor), sex, all two- and three-way interactions, as well as the set of covariates.
Conclusions:
This trial has the potential to improve primary and secondary skin cancer prevention behaviors for young onset melanoma survivors and their family members. Its impact lies in its implementation and dissemination potential in a variety of contexts given the use of a familiar, popular, freely-available social media platform. If efficacious, this program could be conducted via dermatologist practices, public health/non-profit organizations focused on melanoma, or existing melanoma and skin cancer Facebook groups. This project will produce a content library of posts and a moderation guide that can be implemented by others with lower costs relative to face-to-face and telephone interventions.
Citation
