Patients' decisions on prostate cancer (PCa) opportunistic screening may vary. This study aimed to assess how demographic and health-related characteristics may influence knowledge and decisions regarding PCa screening.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among men aged over 40, randomly sampled from the Spanish population, 2022. The survey underwent development and content validation using a modified Delphi method and was administered via telephone. Binomial logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between respondents' characteristics and participants' knowledge and practices concerning PCa and the PSA test.
Out of 1,334 men, 1,067 (80%) respondents were interviewed with a mean age of 58.6 years (sd 11.9). Most had secondary or university studies (787, 73.8%) and 61 (5.7%) self-reported their health status as bad or very bad. Most of the respondents (1,018, 95.4%) had knowledge regarding PCa with nearly 70% expressed significant concern about its potential development (720, 70.8%), particularly among those under 64 years (p = 0.001). Out of 847 respondents, 573 (67.7%) reported that they have knowledge regarding the PSA test: 374 (65.4%) reported receiving information from a clinicians, 324 (86.6%) information about the benefits of the test and 189 (49,5%) about its risks, with differences based on educational background. In a multivariable analysis (adjusted for age, educational level and previous prostate problems), respondents with higher levels of education were more likely to have higher knowledge regarding the PSA test (OR 1.75, 95%CI 1.24-2.50, p<0.001).
Although most of the patients reported to have knowledge regarding PCa, half of the interviewed men reported knowledge about PSA test. Differences in knowledge prostate cancer screening and undesirable consequences highlight the need to develop and provide tailored information for patients.
PloS one. 2024 May 30*** epublish ***
Lucy A Parker, Juan-Pablo Caballero-Romeu, Elisa Chilet-Rosell, Ildefonso Hernandez-Aguado, Luis Gómez-Pérez, Pablo Alonso-Coello, Ana Cebrián, Maite López-Garrigós, Irene Moral-Pélaez, Elena Ronda, Mercedes Gilabert, Carlos Canelo-Aybar, Ignacio Párraga-Martínez, Mª Del Campo-Giménez, Blanca Lumbreras
Department of Public Health, History of Science and Gynecology, Miguel Hernandez University, San Juan de Alicante, Spain., Department of Urology, Dr. Balmis General University Hospital; Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL), Alicante, Spain., Department of Urology, University General Hospital of Elche, Elche, Spain., Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre - Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health, Biomedical Re-search Institute Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain., Cartagena Casco Healthcare Centre, Cartagena, Spain., CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health, CIBERESP, Madrid, Spain., EAP Sardenya, Barcelona. Institut de Recerca Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain., Department of Health Psychology, Miguel Hernandez University, Elche, Spain., Health Care Center Zone VIII, Servicio de Salud Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain., Integrated Care Management of Albacete. Health Service of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.