Introduction: Urban minority groups, such as those living in north Manhatta
n, are generally underserved with regard to cancer prevention and screening
practices. Primary care physicians are in a critical position to counsel t
heir patients on these subjects and to order screening tests for their pati
ents.
Methods: Eighty-four primary care physicians in two intervention communitie
s who received educational visits about cancer screening and prevention wer
e compared with 38 physicians in a nearby community who received no interve
ntion. With pre- and post-test interviews over an 18-month period, the phys
icians were asked about their attitudes toward, knowledge of (relative to A
merican Cancer Society guidelines), and likelihood of counseling and screen
ing for breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancers.
Results: Comparison of the two surveys of physicians indicated no statistic
ally significant differences in knowledge of cancer prevention or screening
. At post-test, however, intervention group physicians identified significa
ntly fewer barriers to practice than control physicians (p < 0.05). While o
verall, the educational visits to inner-city primary care physicians did no
t appear to significantly alter cancer prevention practices, there was a po
sitive dose-response relationship among the subgroup of participants who re
ceived three or more project contacts.
Conclusions: We uncovered significant changes in attitude due to academic d
etailing among urban primary care physicians practicing in north Manhattan.
A significant pre-test sensitization effect and small numbers may have mas
ked overall changes in cancer prevention and screening behaviors among phys
icians due to the intervention.
(C) 2000 American Journal of Preventive Medicine.