Primary care providers' attitudes toward prostate cancer risk factors at a Veterans Affairs health care facility.

OBJECTIVE

We asked what factors influence primary care providers' decision to screen patients for prostate cancer.

METHODS

A survey completed by 175 Veterans Affairs primary care providers queried whether patient anxiety, family history, race, and other assorted risk factors increased their likelihood of screening for prostate cancer. Subsequent questions assessed the degree to which various factors, such as age, comorbidities, and lack of interest, decreased their likelihood of screening.

RESULTS

The African American race increased the tendency for screening for 84.6%, followed by a family history of prostate cancer for 73.3%. Life expectancy of less than 5 years substantially decreased the tendency to screen for only 42.3%. Only 28% thought that age of more than 75 years was a deterrent to screening.

CONCLUSIONS

Veterans Affairs primary care providers recognize the need to aggressively screen African Americans and men with a family history of prostate cancer. However, they often screen men with a limited life expectancy or advanced age.