• M M Schapira and J VanRuiswyk.
• Department of Internal Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Milwaukee 53295-1000, USA. mschap@mcw.edu
• J Fam Pract. 2000 May 1; 49 (5): 418424418-24.

BackgroundProstate cancer screening with serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal examination (DRE) continues to increase. Our goal was to test the effect of a prostate cancer screening decision-aid on patients' knowledge, beliefs, and use of prostate cancer screening tests.MethodsOur study was a randomized controlled trial of a prostate cancer screening decision-aid consisting of an illustrated pamphlet as opposed to a comparison intervention. We included 257 men aged 50 to 80 years who were receiving primary care at a Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The decision-aid provided quantitative outcomes of prostate cancer screening with DRE and PSA. We subsequently evaluated prostate cancer screening knowledge, beliefs, and test use.ResultsThe illustrated pamphlet decision-aid was effective in improving knowledge of prostate cancer screening tests: 95% of the experimental group were aware of the possibility of false-negative test results compared with 85% of the comparison group (P <.01). Ninety-one percent of the experimental group were aware of the possibility of a false-positive screening test result compared with 65% of the comparison group (P <.01). However, there was no difference in the use of prostate cancer screening between the experimental (82%) and comparison (84%) groups, (P >.05).ConclusionsWhen used in a primary care setting, an illustrated pamphlet decision-aid was effective in increasing knowledge of prostate cancer screening tests but did not change the use of these tests.

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