What influences men's decision to have a prostate-specific antigen test? A qualitative study.

Background: Current UK policy recommends informed decision making for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. The process by which men decide to be tested warrants further investigation.

Objective: To determine the important influences on men's decision to have a PSA test.

The PSA testing dilemma: GPs' reports of consultations with asymptomatic men: a qualitative study.

Background: The National Health Service Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme (PCRMP) has recommended that screening for prostate cancer is available for asymptomatic men, on the understanding that they have been provided with full and balanced information about the advantages and limitations of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Guidance has been distributed to all GPs in England and Wales to assist in the provision of information to men. This study aimed to elicit GPs' accounts of their discussions with asymptomatic men who consult with concerns about prostate cancer in order to identify the degree to which the PCRMP guidance was reflected in these consultations.

Informed decision making and prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for prostate cancer: a randomised controlled trial exploring the impact of a brief patient decision aid on men's knowledge, attitudes and intention to be tested.

Objective: To examine the impact of a brief patient decision aid (pDA) on men's knowledge, attitudes and intention to have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test. To explore the important predictors of intention to be tested in men who received the brief pDA.

Methods: A brief pDA designed to facilitate informed decision-making for men considering PSA testing was developed for the NHS Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme.

PSA testing for prostate cancer: an online survey of the views and reported practice of General Practitioners in the UK.

Background: The role of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) testing in the early detection of prostate cancer is controversial. Current UK policy stipulates that any man who wishes to have a PSA test should have access to the test, provided he has been given full information about the benefits and limitations of testing. This study aimed to determine UK GPs' current reported practice regarding PSA testing, and their views towards informed decision-making and PSA testing.