Patient Educational Materials for Prostate Cancer Screening

Although the harms of screening for prostate cancer with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test outweigh the benefits, 560,000 Ontario men undergo PSA screening each year. Guideline developers, such as the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTFPHC), have disseminated patient educational materials (PEMs) on PSA screening widely in Ontario, yet men remain confused about screening harms and benefits. One potential contributing factor may be that PEMs are typically developed by researchers and clinicians and may not address patient barriers to change. The investigators will assess whether a PSA screening PEM that is co-created with patients provides added value over PEMs developed using the traditional approach (i.e., researchers and clinicians develop a PEM with patient involvement in usability testing only. The investigators will also assess satisfaction with the engagement process and calculate the costs and resources required for each method (i.e. co-creation, usability, and recommendations only). This study will generate a PSA screening PEM to help patients make evidence-based screening decisions. It will also help Ontario organizations, including Cancer Care Ontario, identify optimal methods for developing PEMs for PSA screening and other areas of preventive health care, such as breast and colorectal cancer screening.