Educating Men about Prostate Cancer Screening A Randomized Trial of a Mailed Pamphlet

CONTEXT. Although evidence-based guidelines recommend that physicians inform men about prostate cancer screening, the most efficient way to do this is not known. OBJECTIVE. To evaluate whether a mailed educational pamphlet affected men’s knowledge about early detection of prostate cancer. DESIGN. Randomized, controlled trial. SETTING. Primary care clinic of the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. PATIENTS. 342 men at least 50 years of age who responded to a mailed survey (overall response rate, 68%) and did not report a history of prostate cancer. INTERVENTION. “Early Prostate Cancer ” pamphlet mailed to patients in the interven-tion group 1 week before their scheduled clinic appointments. OUTCOME MEASURES. Patients ’ responses to a survey mailed 1 week after their clinic appointments; prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing determined from electronic medical records. RESULTS. Respondents were predominantly elderly white men (mean age, 71 years; 90 % white) with chronic illnesses (48 % described their health as “fair ” or “poor”)