AUSTRALIAN GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS VIEWS AND USE OF TESTS TO DETECT EARLY PROSTATE-CANCER

To describe general practitioners' current beliefs, knowledge and self -reported practices in prostate cancer screening, we conducted a natio nal survey of 1,271 general practitioners, obtaining 855 completed que stionnaires (67% response rate). Available tests for prostate cancer s creening, namely DRE and PSA alone and in combination, were indicated to be effective by 49%, 43% and 68% of respondents respectively, with older GPs significantly more likely to hold these views. The effect of guidelines was mixed. Less than 8% of respondents indicated they did not recommend screening. Although the majority of GPs were unlikely to adopt an opportunistic approach to prostate cancer screening, 63%, 57 % and 46% indicated they would recommend DRE, PSA or both respectively during a dedicated health check up. Awareness of relevant guidelines was low, with nearly half of respondents unable to recall publications from the RACGP or ACS. Counter-intuitively awareness of ACS guideline s for prostate cancer screening (which advise against screening) was s ignificantly associated with the converse behaviour. Findings from thi s first national study behove proactive and highly targeted disseminat ion in general practice of the AHTAC policy announced by the Commonwea lth Health Minister in August 1996.