Skin cancer screening in the aging population in Saxony-Anhalt : Utilization, facilitating, and hindering factors

Abstract

Statutory skin cancer screening (gHKS) can counteract severe courses of various types of skin cancer. The example of malignant melanoma shows that screening is important for older adults in view of the average age of onset of this disease: 62 (women) and 68years (men). For Saxony-Anhalt (ST), as astate particularly affected by demographic change, little gHKS data are available regarding its usage. For the study, gHKS participation rates for persons aged 55 and older are presented for ST in comparison to the rest of Germany. Reasons for and barriers to participation from those eligible as well as possible fields of action are shown. For the target group, outpatient billing data from the Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Germany (Zi) on gHKS from 2011-2020 are cross-sectionally and longitudinally analysed. Guideline-based telephone interviews with 18residents using qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz serve to identify reasons for and barriers to the use of gHKS. The gHKS was rarely and irregularly used in ST and other federal states of Germany from 2011-2020; the annual utilisation rate was about8.0% (national average: 8.4%). Between 2011 and 2020, 50% of eligible people aged 55years and older did not participate in the gHKS. The highest utilisation rates were among men aged 70-79years. In addition to district-specific differences, which indicate possible gaps in care, information deficits appear to be the main reason for low participation. The low utilisation of gHKS, partly due to alack of information among those entitled to it, requires target group-specific information services.