For Prostate Cancer Info Videos, Patients Prefer Hearing From a Physician

FRIDAY, July 21, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Prostate cancer information delivered by video is considered more trustworthy when delivered by a physician versus a patient, according to a study published online July 19 in JAMA Network Open.

Stacy Loeb, M.D., from New York University Langone Health in New York City, and colleagues evaluated the association between racial representation in online content about prostate cancer and trust in the content. A total of 2,904 participants were surveyed after being randomly assigned to watch the same video script about prostate cancer screening or clinical trials presented by one of four speakers: a Black physician, a Black patient, a White physician, or a White patient.

The researchers found that among Black participants, a greater proportion had high trust in videos with Black speakers versus White speakers (72.7 versus 64.3 percent; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.62; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.28 to 2.05; P < 0.001) and less trust with patient versus physician presenter (64.6 versus 72.5 percent; aOR, 0.63; 95 percent CI, 0.49 to 0.80; P < 0.001) and about clinical trials versus screening (66.3 versus 70.7 percent; aOR, 0.78; 95 percent CI, 0.62 to 0.99; P = 0.04). Differences were similar among White adults, with a lower proportion having high trust in videos featuring a patient versus physician (72.0 versus 78.6 percent; aOR, 0.71; 95 percent CI, 0.54 to 0.95; P = 0.02) and clinical trials versus screening (71.4 versus 79.1 percent; aOR, 0.57; 95 percent CI, 0.42 to 0.76; P < 0.001). However, among White participants, there was no difference in trust for Black versus White presenters (76.8 versus 73.7 percent; aOR, 1.11; 95 percent CI, 0.83 to 1.48; P = 0.49).

"In contexts such as Black men's disproportionate mortality from prostate cancer, racial representation may be an important tool to improve trust in populations who need the information most," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text

Editorial