The effectiveness of a population-based skin cancer screening program: evidence from Germany

Micha Kaiser, Jörg Schiller and Christopher Schreckenberger ()
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Micha Kaiser: University of Hohenheim
Jörg Schiller: University of Hohenheim
Christopher Schreckenberger: University of Hohenheim

The European Journal of Health Economics, 2018, vol. 19, issue 3, No 5, 355-367

Abstract: Abstract In this paper, we analyze how a nationwide population-based skin cancer screening program (SCS) implemented in Germany in 2008 has impacted the number of hospital discharges following malignant skin neoplasm diagnosis and the malignant melanoma mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants. Our panel data, drawn from the Eurostat database, cover subregions in 22 European countries, measured at the lowest nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) level for 2000–2013. Applying fixed effects methods, we find a significantly positive and robust effect of the German SCS on the number of patients diagnosed with malignant skin neoplasm. However, the program does not significantly influence the melanoma mortality rate. This finding conflicts with the decreased melanoma mortality rate found for the pilot SCS program in northern Germany. Our results indicate that Germany’s nationwide SCS program is effective in terms of a higher diagnosis rate for malignant skin neoplasms and thus may contribute to an improvement in the early detection of skin cancer.

Keywords: Cancer prevention; Fixed effect; Melanoma; Screening; Skin cancer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 I13 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10198-017-0888-4

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