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. 2020 Jun;133(6):723-732.
doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2019.11.017. Epub 2019 Dec 17.

Cancer Prevention in Primary Care: Perception of Importance, Recognition of Risk Factors and Prescribing Behaviors

Goli Samimi  1 , Brandy M Heckman-Stoddard  2 , Christine Holmberg  3 , Bethany Tennant  4 , Bonny Bloodgood Sheppard  4 , Kisha I Coa  4 , Shelley S Kay  4 , Leslie G Ford  2 , Eva Szabo  2 , Lori M Minasian  2
Affiliations

Cancer Prevention in Primary Care: Perception of Importance, Recognition of Risk Factors and Prescribing Behaviors

Goli Samimi et al. Am J Med. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: Acceptability and uptake of cancer preventive interventions is associated with physician recommendation, which is dependent on physician familiarity with available preventive options. The goal of this study is to evaluate cancer prevention perceptions, understanding of breast and ovarian cancer risk factors, and prescribing behaviors of primary care physicians.

Methods: We conducted cross-sectional. Web-based survey of 750 primary care physicians (250 each for obstetrics/gynecology, internal medicine, and family medicine) in the United States. Survey respondents were recruited from an opt-in health care provider panel.

Results: Perception of importance and the practice of recommending general and cancer-specific preventive screenings and interventions significantly differed by provider type. These perceptions and behaviors reflected the demographics of the population that the primary care physicians see within their respective practices. The majority of respondents recognized genetic/hereditary risk factors for breast or ovarian cancer, while epidemiologic or clinical risk factors were less frequently recognized. Prescribing behaviors were related to familiarity with the interventions, with physicians indicating that they more frequently reinforced a specialist's recommendation rather than prescribed a preventive intervention.

Conclusions: Cancer prevention perceptions, recognition of cancer risk factors, and prescribing behaviors differ among practice types and were related to familiarity with preventive options. Cancer prevention education and risk assessment resources should be more widely available to primary care physicians.

Keywords: Cancer prevention; Primary care physicians; Survey.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Perceptions and Recommendations of General and Cancer-Specific Preventive Screenings or Interventions.
Percentages of respondents who perceived the specified preventive screening or intervention as “very important” and “important”, and percentages of respondents who reported prescribing and reinforcing recommendations for the specified preventing screening or intervention, by provider type. p-value<0.05 between afamily medicine and internists for regularly recommends; binternists and OB/GYN physicians for regularly recommends; cfamily medicine and OB/GYN physicians for regularly recommends; dfamily medicine and internists for perceived as important; einternists and OB/GYN physicians for perceived as important; ffamily medicine and OB/GYN physicians for perceived as important.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Recognition of Factors Associated with Cancer Risk.
Percentages of respondents who indicated the specified factor as either increasing or decreasing risk, by provider type. p-value<0.05 between afamily medicine and internists for breast cancer; binternists and OB/GYN physicians for breast cancer; cfamily medicine and OB/GYN physicians for breast cancer; dfamily medicine and internists for ovarian cancer; einternists and OB/GYN physicians for ovarian cancer; ffamily medicine and OB/GYN physicians for ovarian cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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