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
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014 Apr;23(4):404-11.
doi: 10.1002/pon.3437. Epub 2013 Oct 15.

Randomized trial of print messaging: the role of the partner and monitoring style in promoting provider discussions about prostate cancer screening among African American men

Suzanne M Miller  1 , Pagona Roussi, John Scarpato, Kuang-Yi Wen, Fang Zhu, Gem Roy
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Randomized trial of print messaging: the role of the partner and monitoring style in promoting provider discussions about prostate cancer screening among African American men

Suzanne M Miller et al. Psychooncology. 2014 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: Although African American (AA) men are at elevated risk for prostate cancer, medical guidelines do not present consistent screening recommendations for this group. However, all guidelines stress the need for screening decision making with a provider. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a brochure for the female partners of AA men, designed to help promote such discussion on the part of their mates. We also explored the effect of the partner's monitoring style (i.e., the extent to which the partner typically attends to health threats) on promoting discussion.

Methods: Female partners of AA men (N = 231) were randomized to receive either a prostate cancer screening Centers for Disease Control brochure for AA men, combined with a 'partner' brochure containing strategies to promote men's initiation of a provider visit to discuss screening, or the Centers for Disease Control brochure only and completed preintervention and post-intervention surveys online.

Results: The message groups did not differ on taking active steps to engage in provider discussion: relative risk ratio (RRR) = 0.99, p = .98; thinking about it: RRR = 1.13, p = .74. However, among partners who received the partner brochure, monitoring style was associated with 'thinking about initiating a provider visit' on the part of the mate (RRR = 1.74, p < .01). Across conditions, monitoring style was also associated with 'taking active steps to initiate a provider visit' on the part of the mate (RRR = 1.38, p < .05).

Conclusions: High monitoring partners may be effective in influencing their AA mates to initiate provider discussion, particularly when tailored messaging is provided.

Keywords: AA men; communication messages; monitoring style; partner; prostate cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow through randomized clinical trial
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Scosyrev E, Messing J, Noyes K, Veazie P, Messing E. Surveillance epidemiology and end results (SEER) program and population-based research in urologic oncology: An overview. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations. 2012;30(2):126–32. - PubMed
    1. Bock CH, Powell, Kittles I, Hsing RA, Carpten AW. J Racial Disparities in Prostate Cancer Incidence, Biochemical Recurrence, and Mortality. Prostate Cancer. 2011:2. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Powell I, Vigneau F, Ruterbusch J, Heilbrun L, Bock C. 1201 earlier age for prostate cancer screening of African American men is needed to eliminate racial mortality disparity. The Journal of Urology. 2011;185:e482.
    1. Siegel R, Naishadham D, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2012. CA: a Cancer Journal For Clinicians. 2012;62(1):10–29. - PubMed
    1. Hughes L, Zhu F, Ross E, Gross L, Uzzo RG, Chen DY, Viterbo R, Rebbeck TR, Giri VN. Assessing the clinical role of genetic markers of early-onset prostate cancer among high-risk men enrolled in prostate cancer early detection. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. 2012;21:53–60. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types