Rules

Guidelines for the campaigns have been constructed on the basis of the collective experience from running the Campaign in different countries over the years. Logistic aspects and practices can vary among countries and are subject to change in the future with the evolution and the organizational needs of the Campaign.

The functioning of Euromelanoma is based on the following general principles:

• The Euromelanoma Screening Campaign is scheduled on a pre-defined Monday in Spring, preferably in May, as it precedes Summer, holidays and recreational activities under the sun.
  May is also considered an appropriate time for the Campaign since it is already designated as a "Skin Cancer Awareness" month in some countries. The date of the Campaign is decided upon during the annual Euromelanoma Group Meeting with the aim of synchronising the event in all countries, even though exceptions may occur in certain countries due to conflicts with official holidays or religious events.

   

• In each country, a local task force, designated as the Local Euromelanoma Committee, organises the "Euromelanoma Day".
  The task force is led by a national representative, who is required to be an EADV member affiliated with a hospital or an academic institution. The national representative is confirmed by the national society of dermatology and participates at the annual Euromelanoma Group meeting. The local Euromelanoma Committee is responsible for running the campaign in conjunction with the local authorities (e.g. Ministries of Health), the national medical and/or cancer societies, the local media, etc.
  It follows a specific operational agenda which includes sending invitations for participation to local dermatologists, setting up a public phone line to arrange screening appointments and organizing a press conference to inform the media about the event.

   

• The Euromelanoma Screening Campaign usually takes place under the auspices of the National and/or Regional Dermatologic Societies with or without financial sponsors designated by each local task force.

   

• The Campaign is conducted by dermatologists, operating in private offices/centres or in public hospitals. The screening is generally free-of-charge for participants and the dermatologist(s) do not receive a consultation fee. However, in some national health systems, the regular fee for a visit to a dermatologist is charged .

   

• Each year a specific theme is chosen for the European campaign, which is recommended to be used in each country.

   

• The existing information material, particularly the specifically designed Euromelanoma logo is an integral part of all Euromelanoma-related material (brochures, pamphlets, posters, etc).

   

• The screening consists of a skin examination and the completion of a questionnaire-based interview. A common European questionnaire was developed by participating countries in 2008 under the co-ordination of two epidemiologists (Dr Jean Luc Bulliard and Dr Esther de Vries). Since then, no other questionnaire is used to collect data during the Euromelanoma campaign. However, additional data can be obtained by the participating countries under the responsibility of the local organizers. Since 2009, data collection has been centralized through a web-based application (initially established by Esther de Vries) accessible from the Euromelanoma website (www.euromelanoma.org).
   
   
• The creation of a Euromelanoma website has provided a wealth of information about the campaign with direct public access.
  Each participating country can translate and store educational material on own sub-sections of the website, which all have a common template.

   

• Parallel events aiming to highlight the purposes of the Euromelanoma Screening Campaign and increasing public awareness of the main issues of melanoma/skin cancer prevention are also organised. Such events include visits to schools for educational purposes, set-ups of Euromelanoma screening booths at central locations of cities, or screening specific high profile or famous individuals or populations, i.e., sports teams or professional athletes.