title: Cancer education among primary care physicians in an underserved community.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Urban minority groups, such as those living in north Manhattan, are generally underserved with regard to cancer prevention and screening practices. Primary care physicians are in a critical position to counsel their patients on these subjects and to order screening tests for their patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-four primary care physicians in two intervention communities who received educational visits about cancer screening and prevention were compared with 38 physicians in a nearby community who received no intervention. With pre- and post-test interviews over an 18-month period, the physicians were asked about their attitudes toward, knowledge of (relative to American Cancer Society guidelines), and likelihood of counseling and screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comparison of the two surveys of physicians indicated no statistically significant differences in knowledge of cancer prevention or screening. At post-test, however, intervention group physicians identified significantly fewer barriers to practice than control physicians (p<0.05). While overall, the educational visits to inner-city primary care physicians did not appear to significantly alter cancer prevention practices, there was a positive dose-response relationship among the subgroup of participants who received three or more project contacts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We uncovered significant changes in attitude due to academic detailing among urban primary care physicians practicing in north Manhattan. A significant pre-test sensitization effect and small numbers may have masked overall changes in cancer prevention and screening behaviors among physicians due to the intervention.
authors.affiliation: Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sheinfeld Gorin
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gemson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ashford
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bloch
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lantigua
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ahsan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neugut
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003376:Counseling; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009519:New York City; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care; D014505:Urban Population