JMIR Dermatology

Perineum sunning/tanning is a potentially harmful yet popular new health trend cultivated by a viral social media post, famous public figures, and subsequent media coverage.

Research has pointed to a connection between social media use, emotions, and tanning behaviors. However, less is known about the role specific emotions may play in influencing social media use and how emotions and social media use may each be associated with outdoor tanning.

Dermatologists are increasingly utilizing social media platforms to disseminate scientific information. New tools, such as altmetrics and PlumX metrics, have been made available to rapidly capture the level of scientific article dissemination across social media platforms. However, no studies have been performed to assess the level of scientific article dissemination across social media regarding hidradenitis suppurativa, a disease that is still currently not well understood.

The skin is a dynamic ecosystem of microbes and the source of many chemical compounds that affect human health. Skin-microbiome interactions can cause persistent, psychosocially devastating body smell despite good hygiene. Since odor production is often transient, malodors may not be perceptible during medical examinations. Therefore, having odor complaints can be diagnosed as body dysmorphic disorder and referred for psychological evaluations. Development of simple at-home tests and virtual care programs could improve the diagnosis and management of socially debilitating malodor conditions.

YouTube is a popular platform with many videos, which have potential educational value for medical students. Due to the lack of peer review, other surrogates are necessary to determine the content quality of such educational videos. Few studies have analyzed the research background or academic affiliation of the physicians associated with the production of YouTube videos for medical education. The research background or academic affiliations of those physicians may be a reflection of the content quality of these educational videos.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer; survival of the most serious skin cancers and malignant melanomas depends on early detection. Early detection relies on accessibility to clinical skin examination (CSE). Primary care nurse practitioners (PCNPs) are well-positioned to conduct CSEs; however, they require further education on CSE and have time constraints for continuing education. A digitally delivered intervention grounded in microlearning is a promising approach to deliver new information over a brief period.

Clinical practice guidelines are evidence-based recommendations used by physicians to improve patient care. These guidelines provide the physician with an assessment of the benefits and harms of a treatment and its alternatives. Therefore, it is essential that the clinical practice guidelines be based on the strongest available evidence. Numerous studies in a variety of different fields of medicine have demonstrated that recommendations supported by weak evidence are a common theme in clinical practice guidelines. A clinical guideline based solely on weak evidence has the capability to reduce the quality of care provided by physicians.

There is a lack of psychological support for individuals with skin conditions, and few low-intensity self-help interventions are available.

Striae distensae, or stretch marks, are a common and distressing condition affecting females two-and-a-half times more frequently than males. Despite the numerous products available for stretch mark prevention and treatment, there have been few studies that consider consumer product preference.

Sunscreen use is a popular sun protection method; however, application of sunscreen rarely meets the standards recommended for effectiveness. Access to information about how to effectively use sunscreen may play a role in proper sunscreen application. The internet is a common health information source; however, the quality of sunscreen-related content varies.

Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey responses are considered significant indicators of the quality of care and patient satisfaction. There is a pressing need to improve patient satisfaction rates as CAHPS survey responses are considered when determining the amount a facility will be reimbursed by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid each year. Low overall CAHPS scores for an academic medical center’s dermatology clinics were anecdotally attributed to clinic type. However, it was unclear whether clinic type was contributing to the low scores or whether there were other factors.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer and is often ignored by people at an early stage. There are 5.4 million new cases of skin cancer worldwide every year. Deaths due to skin cancer could be prevented by early detection of the mole.