Objectives: To examine accuracy of patient-reported prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels among indigent, uninsured men in a state-funded prostate cancer treatment program that provides case management, care coordination, and health education.
Design and sample: Program evaluation. About 114 men with matched self- and lab-reported PSA levels at program enrollment and another time point within 18 months.
Measures: Abstraction of self- and lab-reported PSA levels to determine self-report as "accurate" or "inaccurate," and evaluate accuracy change over time, before and after nursing interventions. Chi-square tests compared patients with accurate versus inaccurate PSA values. Nonlinear multivariate analyses explored trends in self-reported accuracy over time.
Intervention: Program enrollees receive prostate cancer education from a Nurse Case Manager (NCM), including significance of PSA levels. Men self-report PSA results to their NCM following lab draws and appointments. The NCM provides ongoing education about PSA levels.
Results: Of the sample, 46% (n = 53) accurately reported PSA levels. Accuracy of PSA self-reports improved with increasing time since program enrollment. Compared with men at public facilities, those treated at private facilities showed increasing accuracy in self-reported PSA (p = .038).
Conclusion: A targeted nursing intervention may increase specific knowledge of PSA levels. Additionally, the provider/treatment setting significantly impacts a patient's disease education and knowledge.
Keywords: cancer; health literacy; men's health; public health nursing practice; underserved populations.
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.