The prostate cancer screening debate: Public reaction to medical controversy in the media

Abstract

This study explored older men's and their partners' reactions to a television news program on the medical debate surrounding the use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer screening. Six focus groups, split by gender and socio-economic status (SES), were conducted with men aged 50 years or older (n = 28) and female partners of such men (n = 13). A self-completion questionnaire was also used to yield quantitative indices. In general, viewers appeared to appreciate from the debate that there was controversy surrounding prostate cancer screening, and they recognized that PSA testing is more applicable to certain subgroups of men. Although there were differences by SES a..