A work developed by researchers from CINTESIS – Center for Health Technology and Services Research have won the Best Oral Communication Award in the category of “Theme Review”, in the framework of the 36th National Meeting of General and Family Medicine, held in Braga, from March 13 to 16.
Sofia Baptista, as the first author, received the distinction in an official ceremony attended by the head of the Portuguese Medical Association (Ordem dos Médicos), Miguel Guimarães; the Secretary of State for Health, Raquel Duarte; the president of the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine (APMGF) Rui Nogueira; and a member of the National Coordination of Primary Health Care Reform, José Luis Biscaia (photo).
“It’s a joy to see our work recognized and it’s an encouragement to continue,” said the researcher, stressing that this award belongs to the entire team.
The award distinguishes the study “Auxiliares de decisão web versus outros formatos para o rastreio do cancro da próstata: meta-análise” (Web-based versus other formats of decision aids for prostate cancer screening: meta-analysis), also authored by researchers Luís Azevedo and Carlos Martins (coordinator of the study), CINTESIS / Department of Community Medicine, Health Information and Decision (MEDCIDS) of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto.
This work, which has already been published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), has demonstrated the positive impact of using digital tools to support the decision on whether or not to perform a PSA test, which can identify prostate cancer, the second leading cause of death due to cancer in men. The test, however, poses a number of risks.
The authors reviewed a number of clinical trials and concluded that access to web-based tools increased patient awareness, reduced uncertainty, and contributed to their greater participation in decision-making.
Currently, screening for prostate cancer is still a controversial subject, especially after two large studies have found no benefit from using PSA test. Although PSA enables diagnosis, it is also associated with overdiagnosis (up to 41% of the cases) and side effects of overtreatment, such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.