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A National Survey of Medical Students’ Beliefs and Knowledge in Screening for Prostate Cancer

BACKGROUND: Today’s medical students are being educated at a time when there are no evidence-based guidelines for prostate cancer screening. OBJECTIVE: To examine medical students’ knowledge and beliefs concerning prostate cancer screening and specific determinants for their beliefs. DESIGN, SETTING...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Marcella, Stephen, Delnevo, Cristine D., Coughlin, Steven S.
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer-Verlag 2007
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1824714/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17351844
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11606-006-0015-1
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author Marcella, Stephen
Delnevo, Cristine D.
Coughlin, Steven S.
author_facet Marcella, Stephen
Delnevo, Cristine D.
Coughlin, Steven S.
author_sort Marcella, Stephen
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Today’s medical students are being educated at a time when there are no evidence-based guidelines for prostate cancer screening. OBJECTIVE: To examine medical students’ knowledge and beliefs concerning prostate cancer screening and specific determinants for their beliefs. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: One thousand six hundred and forty four students were sampled at 20 medical schools using a web-based, cross-sectional survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Basic knowledge and beliefs about prostate cancer testing, epidemiology, and therapy were ascertained. RESULTS: Four of 8 knowledge items were answered incorrectly by 50% or more of students. Seven of 8 students believe that early diagnosis from screening can improve survival from prostate cancer. Second- and third-year students were more likely than fourth-year students to believe that the digital rectal exam (DRE) and the prostate-specific antigen test were accurate, adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.2 to 2.7 and 1.7; 1.3 to 2.2 for second and third years, respectively, for the DRE. Black and Hispanic students were no more likely than white students to agree that early screening diagnosis improves survival, but blacks were more likely to agree with screening black or Hispanic men (AOR 7.8; 95% CI, 5.3 to 11.4 and 3.2; 2.2 to 4.7, respectively). More knowledgeable students were less likely to believe in the benefit of early detection and the accuracy of the prostate-specific antigen (AOR 0.3; 95%CI, 0.2 to 0.5). CONCLUSIONS: Medical students generally are very optimistic about the benefits of screening for prostate cancer. Increased knowledge about prostate cancer is associated with a more conservative view of screening. Other predictors are independent of this knowledge.
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spelling pubmed-18247142007-03-15 A National Survey of Medical Students’ Beliefs and Knowledge in Screening for Prostate Cancer Marcella, Stephen Delnevo, Cristine D. Coughlin, Steven S. J Gen Intern Med Original Article BACKGROUND: Today’s medical students are being educated at a time when there are no evidence-based guidelines for prostate cancer screening. OBJECTIVE: To examine medical students’ knowledge and beliefs concerning prostate cancer screening and specific determinants for their beliefs. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: One thousand six hundred and forty four students were sampled at 20 medical schools using a web-based, cross-sectional survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Basic knowledge and beliefs about prostate cancer testing, epidemiology, and therapy were ascertained. RESULTS: Four of 8 knowledge items were answered incorrectly by 50% or more of students. Seven of 8 students believe that early diagnosis from screening can improve survival from prostate cancer. Second- and third-year students were more likely than fourth-year students to believe that the digital rectal exam (DRE) and the prostate-specific antigen test were accurate, adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.2 to 2.7 and 1.7; 1.3 to 2.2 for second and third years, respectively, for the DRE. Black and Hispanic students were no more likely than white students to agree that early screening diagnosis improves survival, but blacks were more likely to agree with screening black or Hispanic men (AOR 7.8; 95% CI, 5.3 to 11.4 and 3.2; 2.2 to 4.7, respectively). More knowledgeable students were less likely to believe in the benefit of early detection and the accuracy of the prostate-specific antigen (AOR 0.3; 95%CI, 0.2 to 0.5). CONCLUSIONS: Medical students generally are very optimistic about the benefits of screening for prostate cancer. Increased knowledge about prostate cancer is associated with a more conservative view of screening. Other predictors are independent of this knowledge. Springer-Verlag 2007-01-05 2007-01 /pmc/articles/PMC1824714/ /pubmed/17351844 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11606-006-0015-1 Text en © Society of General Internal Medicine 2007
spellingShingle Original Article
Marcella, Stephen
Delnevo, Cristine D.
Coughlin, Steven S.
A National Survey of Medical Students’ Beliefs and Knowledge in Screening for Prostate Cancer
title A National Survey of Medical Students’ Beliefs and Knowledge in Screening for Prostate Cancer
title_full A National Survey of Medical Students’ Beliefs and Knowledge in Screening for Prostate Cancer
title_fullStr A National Survey of Medical Students’ Beliefs and Knowledge in Screening for Prostate Cancer
title_full_unstemmed A National Survey of Medical Students’ Beliefs and Knowledge in Screening for Prostate Cancer
title_short A National Survey of Medical Students’ Beliefs and Knowledge in Screening for Prostate Cancer
title_sort national survey of medical students’ beliefs and knowledge in screening for prostate cancer
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1824714/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17351844
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11606-006-0015-1
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