Preparing African-American men in community primary care practices to decide whether or not to have prostate cancer screening

Background: This study was a randomized trial to test the impact of an informed decision-making intervention on prostate cancer screening use. Methods: The study population included 242 African-American men from three primary care practices who were 40-69 years of age and had no history of prostate cancer. Participants completed a baseline survey questionnaire and were randomly assigned either to a Standard Intervention (SI) group (N=121) or an Enhanced Intervention (EI) group (N=121). An informational booklet was mailed to both groups. EI group men were also offered a screening decision education session. Two outcomes were considered: 1) complete screening (i.e., having a digital rectal exam (DRE) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing), and 2) complete or partial screening (i.e., having a PSA test with or without DRE). An endpoint chart audit was performed six months after initial intervention contact. The data were analyzed via exact logistic regression. Results: Overall, screening use was low among study participants. EI group men had a screening frequency two times greater than that of SI group men, but the difference was not statistically significant: 8% vs. 4% (OR=1.94) for complete screening, and 19% vs. 10% (OR=2.08) for complete or partial screening. Multivariable analyses showed that being in the EI group and primary care practice were significant predictors of complete or partial screening (OR=3.9 and OR=5.64, respectively). Conclusion: Prostate cancer screening use may be influenced by exposure to decision education and the influence of screening-related primary care practice factors.