Disparities in prostate cancer screening practices among general practitioners and urologists (PROSHADE study): A cross-sectional study

by Blanca Lumbreras, Lucy A. Parker, Pablo Alonso-Coello, Juan-Pablo Caballero-Romeu, Ignacio Párraga-Martínez, Luis Prieto, Irene Moral-Peláez, Mª del Campo-Giménez, Luis Gómez-Pérez, Ana Cebrián, Maite López-Garrigós, Elena Ronda, Mercedes Guilabert, Carlos Canelo-Aybar, Ildefonso Hernández-Aguado Introduction Recent European recommendations promote risk-based, patient-centred screening models that emphasise shared decision-making (SDM) in prostate cancer (PCa) screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.

Understanding how clinicians apply these practices is essential, particularly given the roles of general practitioners (GPs) and urologists in detection. The aim of this study was to compare the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of GPs and urologists in Spain regarding PSA testing, PCa screening, and SDM implementation.

Methods Cross-sectional survey conducted via an online questionnaire. Members of the Spanish Association of Urology (AEU) and the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine (semFYC) were surveyed online.

The survey, developed and validated using a modified Delphi process, contained 18 items assessing clinicians’ opinions, practices, and knowledge of guidelines. Data from 494 respondents (280 GPs and 214 urologists) were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression to explore differences between specialty, demographics, and screening practices.