• Robert J Volk, Stephen J Spann, Alvab R Cass, and Sarah T Hawley.
• Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex 77098-3915, USA. bvolk@bcm.tmc.edu
• Ann Fam Med. 2003 May 1; 1 (1): 22-8.

PurposeThe efficacy of prostate cancer screening is uncertain, and professional organizations recommend educating patients about potential harms and benefits. We evaluated the effect of a videotape decision aid on promoting informed decision making about prostate cancer screening among primary care patients.MethodsA group of 160 men, 45 to 70 years of age, with no history of prostate cancer, were randomized to view or not to view a 20-minute educational videotape before a routine office visit at a university-based family medicine clinic. The subjects were contacted again 1 year after their visit to assess their receipt of prostate cancer screening (digital rectal examination [DRE] or prostate-specific antigen [PSA] testing), their satisfaction with their screening decision, and knowledge retention since the baseline assessment.ResultsFollow-up assessments were completed for 87.5% of the intervention subjects and 83.8% of the control subjects. The rate of DRE did not differ between the 2 groups. Prostate-specific antigen testing was reported by 24 of 70 (34.3%) intervention subjects and 37 of 67 (55.2%) control subjects (P = .01). African American men were more likely to have had PSA testing (9 of 16, 56.3%) than were white men (13 of 46, 28.3%) (P = .044). Satisfaction with the screening decision did not differ between the study groups. Intervention subjects were more knowledgeable of prostate cancer screening than were control subjects, although these differences declined within 1 year (P < .001).ConclusionsDecision aids for prostate cancer screening can have a long-term effect on screening behavior and appear to promote informed decision making.

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