Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2003 Oct;18(10):781-7.
doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20911.x.

A randomized controlled trial comparing internet and video to facilitate patient education for men considering the prostate specific antigen test

Dominick L Frosch  1 , Robert M Kaplan, Vincent J Felitti
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

A randomized controlled trial comparing internet and video to facilitate patient education for men considering the prostate specific antigen test

Dominick L Frosch et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2003 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the relative advantages of video versus internet-based decision aids to facilitate shared medical decision making. This study compared internet and video patient education modalities for men considering the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test.

Methods: Two hundred and twenty-six men, aged 50 years or older, and scheduled to complete a physical examination at an HMO Health Appraisal Clinic were randomly assigned to access a website (N = 114) or view a 23-minute videotape in the clinic (N = 112) prior to deciding whether they wanted to be screened for prostate cancer.

Results: There were no between-groups differences in participants' ratings of convenience, effort, or satisfaction following exposure to the decision aid. Participants assigned to the video group were more likely to review the materials than individuals assigned to the internet group (98.2% vs 53.5%). Participants in the video group showed significantly greater increases in PSA knowledge and were more likely to decline the PSA test than individuals assigned to the internet group. However, participants in the internet group who reviewed the entire online presentation showed similar increases in PSA knowledge as video participants. Only 5% of all participants visited other websites to inform themselves about the PSA test.

Conclusions: Overall, the video was significantly more effective than the Internet in educating participants about benefits and risks of PSA screening.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Participant recruitment and randomization flowchart.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Changes in prostate specific antigen knowledge.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Hypothetical prostate cancer treatment choices.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Frosch DL, Kaplan RM. Shared decision making in clinical medicine: past research and future directions. Am J Prev Med. 1999;17:285–94. - PubMed
    1. Lenert LA, Cher DJ. Use of meta-analytic results to facilitate shared decision-making. JAMIA. 1999;6:412–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. O'Connor AM, Rostom A, Fiset V, et al. Decision aids for patients facing health treatment or screening decisions: systematic review. BMJ. 1999;319:731–4. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lu-Yao G, Albertsen PC, Stanford JL, Stukel TA, Walker-Corkery ES, Barry MJ. Natural experiment examining impact of aggressive screening and treatment on prostate cancer mortality in two fixed cohorts from Seattle area and Connecticut. BMJ. 2002;325:740–5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barry MJ. Health decision aids to facilitate shared decision making in office practice. Ann Intern Med. 2002;136:127–35. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances