Featured Profile: June K. Robinson, MD

Dr. June Robinson is Research Professor of Dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Her research focuses on primary (sun protection) and secondary (early detection) of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer in at-risk populations. During three decades serving as the PI, co-I, and consultant to funded projects, the research performed by our team resulted in numerous publications in peer–reviewed journals, book chapters and text books as well as service on national and international consensus panels addressing skin cancer prevention and early detection. Dr. Robinson mentors medical students, research fellows, residents and junior faculty. She was honored to receive the American Cancer Society National Service Award, St. George Medal, in 2004, and the Gold Medal of the American Academy of Dermatology in 2015.

This could be adapted for other high risk patients such as those who are immunosuppressed due to HIV infection, taking immunosuppressive medications, or taking medicines that make their skin sensitive to the sun. A list of medications is provided below:

-Tetracyclines (especially doxycycline)

-Thiazides

-Sulfonamides

-Fluoroquinolones

-Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS; especially piroxicam and ketoprofen)

-Phenothiazines (eg, chlorpromazine)

-Psoralens

-Griseofulvin

-Voriconazole

-Aminolevulinic acid and methyl aminolevulinate

-Porfimer sodium

-Retinoids

-Tar compounds

-St. John's wort

But when also using the workbook that accompanies the program in tailoring to a different patient population, one would need to remove the references to kidney transplant patients throughout the workbook, (e.g. the cover page, pages 3, 4, 5 , 6, etc.) to change on which would not be difficult to do.

Facilitators are the personal recommendation of the health care team member who is providing care for the patient. It could also have a link to the website of Kidney transplant organizations. The challenge is to have reminders for busy clinicians to give this recommendation; therefore , the link to national kidney transplant organizations would be an effective way to reach the patients.

Adaptation of the program: consider putting the link to the NCI site on the website of their practices, printing the link on a handout to give to patients at discharge. This is a practice quality improvement program that practices need to engage in for reimbursement. A simply evaluation would be to ask the patient if they read the materials. If yes, what did they learn. What will they be doing differently to protect themselves from the sun?

Sun protection of at-risk populations with just-in-time adaptive interventions.

Updated: 02/20/2020 05:06:30

Questions & Answers

What aspects of the program can be adapted without it losing its effectiveness? Are there specific audiences (beyond those included in the research study) that you feel this program could be adapted for? Any that it shouldn’t be adapted for?

What do you view as the facilitators to implementation? What might be some challenges?

Do you have suggestions for questions that practitioners should include when they evaluate the adaptation/implementation of your program? Do you have specific evaluation tools that would be appropriate for practitioners when they evaluate this program?

What is your current research focused on?