Spaced Education to Optimize Prostate Cancer Screening

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Prostate Cancer

In brief

Two memory research findings (the spacing and testing effects) can dramatically improve retention of learning, but they have largely have been ignored by educators. The researchers have developed a novel form of online education (termed 'spaced education') based on these two effects which has been shown in randomized trials to improve knowledge acquisition and boost learning retention. Using prostate cancer screening as an experimental system, the researchers investigated whether spaced education could durably improve clinicians' behaviors, not just their knowledge.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01168323

Run by

Harvard University Faculty of Medicine

People needed

95

Starts

2007-01-01

Expected to finish

2009-02-01

Last updated by the study team

2010-08-09

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Primary care providers (physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) from the 8 Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals in the New England region (Veterans Integrated Service Network 1 [VISN-1]) were eligible to enroll.

You may not qualify if…

• Primary care providers (PCPs) who ordered PSA as a screen for prostate cancer less than 10 times each year were excluded.

Where it is running

• Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System — Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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