Development and pilot testing of an online screening decision aid for men with a family history of prostate cancer

Objective: This study aimed to develop and pilot test an online screening decision aid (DA) for men with a family history of prostate cancer. Methods: Eligible men (with no previous prostate cancer diagnosis) were recruited through relatives attending a urology outpatient clinic. Men evaluated the DA in two stages. First, they appraised a paper-based version using a questionnaire (n = 22). Second, the same men were asked to reflect on an interactive web-based version via a semi-structured telephone interview (n = 20). Results: Men evaluated both forms of the DA positively. Of the paper-based version, the majority of participants found the DA useful (91%), and that it contained enough information to make a screening decision (73%). All participants reported that the online DA was easy to use and navigate. Most participants reported that a website was their preferred mode of receiving prostate cancer screening information (70%). Conclusion: The developed DA may represent the first online decision-making tool designed specifically for men with a family history prostate cancer that presents age and risk specific information to the user. Practice implications: Comprehensive evaluations of the efficacy and impact of educational interventions such as this are crucial to improve services for individuals making informed screening decisions. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.