Study
Measures. Study participants completed several patient
directed questionnaires before treatment and during followup
through CATIs. Standardized response forms were
used to record the use and helpfulness of various information
sources among study participants. Endorsable information sources included physician description of
treatments, print material (books, pamphlets and brochures),
Internet based information (websites), video
material, physician referral to other patients previously
treated for prostate cancer, consultant physician specific
outcomes, and family and friends. For study purposes
subjects were explicitly asked which sources they used
and which they found most helpful. SCA, a reliable
and responsive instrument adapted from the Service
Satisfaction Scale,15,16 was used to measure patient
satisfaction with information during followup. SCA
consists of 16 items measuring patient satisfaction
across several treatment related domains, including 3
that measure satisfaction with information used to make
treatment related decisions. Higher scores indicate
higher satisfaction levels. SCA assesses the satisfaction
of information sources using 7-point Likert scale
responses converted to a scale of 0 to 100.