Important Facts for Self-Reported Prostate Cancer Screening
Definition
The percentage of men aged 40 and above who have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to screen for prostate cancer with their health care provider.Numerator
The number of men aged 40 and above who have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to screen for prostate cancer with their health care provider.Denominator
The total number of male survey respondents aged 40 or older excluding those who responded "don't know" or "refused" to the numerator question.Data Interpretation Issues
Data from the New Jersey Risk Factor Survey are intended to represent non-institutionalized adults in households with telephones. Data are collected using a random sample of all possible telephone numbers. Prior to analysis, data are weighted to represent the population distribution of adults by age, sex, and "race"/ethnicity. As with all surveys, however, some residual bias may result from nonresponse (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions) and measurement error (e.g., social desirability or recall). Attempts are made to minimize such error by use of a strict calling protocol (up to 15 calls are made to reach each household), good questionnaire design, standardization of interviewer behavior, interviewer training, and frequent, on-site interviewer monitoring and supervision. Starting in 2011, BRFSS protocol requires that the NJBRFS incorporate a fixed quota of interviews from cell phone respondents along with a new weighting methodology called iterative proportional fitting or "raking". The new weighting methodology incorporates additional demographic information (such as education, race, and marital status) in the weighting process. These methodological changes were implemented to account for the underrepresentation of certain demographic groups in the land line sample (which resulted in part from the increasing number of U.S. households without land line phones). Comparisons between 2011 and prior years should therefore be made with caution. (More details about these changes can be found at [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6122a3.htm].)Why Is This Important?
Prostate cancer is the most commonly occurring form of cancer (excluding skin cancer) among men and is the second leading cause of cancer death for men in New Jersey and the U.S. All men over 40 should visit their doctor for a routine health visit which may include a discussion on prostate health.Healthy People Objective: Increase the proportion of men who have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to screen for prostate cancer with their health care provider
U.S. Target: 15.9 percentState Target: 24.4 percent