Research survey for primary care clinicians
We are asking primary care clinicians in Northwest Arkansas and the surrounding region how they handle PSA screening in everyday practice. Your answers will help us understand what local clinicians do and what would make these decisions easier.
Primary care clinicians make most decisions about PSA screening, yet much of the published research on how they approach it comes from academic health systems or national samples.
To our knowledge, no published survey has asked Arkansas primary care clinicians how they handle prostate cancer screening, and community practices outside academic centers are rarely studied anywhere.
This survey is a first step toward understanding what clinicians in our own region do, and what support would be useful to them.
You are eligible if you provide adult primary care in internal medicine or family medicine as a:
Residents and students are not part of this survey.
For the practice and opinion questions there are no right or wrong answers. We want to know what clinicians really do and think.
Taking part is voluntary. You can skip any question or stop at any time.
Your answers are confidential. The study team analyzes responses without names or email addresses, and results are reported only as group totals. No individual clinician or clinic will be identified in any presentation or publication.
The survey is led by residents in the internal medicine and family medicine residency programs, working with medical students. The study is conducted through the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine.
Review board: IRB name and protocol number
Faculty lead: name and title
Questions about the survey: study contact name, email and phone
Questions about your rights as a research participant: IRB office contact
Draft instrument, 25 questions
This is a preview of the questions. Answers are collected in REDCap, not on this page. To take part, use the survey link on the About the study tab.
Published surveys of clinicians
Researchers have surveyed primary care clinicians about PSA screening for three decades. These nine studies informed the design of this survey.
Estevan-Ortega et al., 2024, Frontiers in Medicine
Who was surveyed: A systematic review of 14 clinician surveys published from 2015 to early 2023.
What they found: General practitioners were generally less aware of screening guidelines and less favorable toward PSA testing than urologists. Fewer than half of the studies measured shared decision-making.
Primary care physicians’ beliefs about PSA evidence uncertainty, screening efficacy, and test use
Ross et al., 2018, Journal of the National Medical Association
Who was surveyed: 1,256 primary care physicians in a 2008 national survey run by the CDC.
What they found: Physicians who saw the evidence as uncertain were less likely to offer PSA and more likely to use shared decision-making. Those who believed screening works were more likely to offer it.
Primary care physicians’ use of an informed decision-making process for prostate cancer screening
Volk et al., 2013, Annals of Family Medicine
Who was surveyed: 246 family physicians in a national research network, surveyed in 2007 and 2008.
What they found: About 48% discussed harms and benefits and let the patient decide, while about 24% ordered screening without discussion. Concern about medicolegal risk was a barrier to shared decision-making.
Tasian et al., 2010, Urologic Oncology
Who was surveyed: 82 primary care physicians at one academic medical center.
What they found: A higher knowledge score did not predict a greater tendency to screen, but confidence in one’s own knowledge did. Only 19% felt confident in their knowledge of prostate cancer.
Miller et al., 2016, Urology Practice
Who was surveyed: 73 primary care providers in one academic health system.
What they found: Three quarters reported changing their PSA screening practice after the 2012 task force statement. Most agreed screening may do more harm than good, yet worry about a missed diagnosis outweighed worry about overdiagnosis.
Clinician interest in clinical decision support for PSA-based prostate cancer screening
Harper et al., 2023, Urologic Oncology
Who was surveyed: 59 primary care physicians and advanced practice providers in one academic health system.
What they found: Clinicians were interested in electronic decision support for PSA screening whatever their current screening habits, and agreed most strongly that it should be evidence-based.
Patient and physician perceptions of PSA testing among Black individuals
Lee et al., 2025, JAMA Network Open
Who was surveyed: Interviews with 29 Black men, plus a survey of 31 primary care practitioners and 32 urologists in the Pacific Northwest.
What they found: Both groups knew the task force guidelines well, but far fewer primary care practitioners than urologists believed in the value of PSA testing or early detection (6.5% versus 75%).
Lumbreras et al., 2026, PLoS ONE
Who was surveyed: 280 general practitioners and 214 urologists in Spain, using an 18-item questionnaire validated by a Delphi process.
What they found: Urologists rated PSA testing as more useful and knew the guidelines better. General practitioners far more often reported shared decision-making when ordering a PSA.
Prostate cancer screening: knowledge, attitudes, and practices by medical doctors in Portugal
Braga et al., 2025, Journal of Cancer Education
Who was surveyed: 596 family doctors and 63 urologists in a national online survey.
What they found: The two groups followed different guidelines, and urologists recommended PSA testing much more often. About 65% of doctors believed MRI could improve diagnosis in men with a high PSA.
Sources retrieved from PubMed and Consensus in November 2026. Summaries are based on the published abstracts.