How PCORI’s Research Agenda is Addressing Men’s Health Issues
It’s not a new golf club, tie, or power tool, but sending your Dad a reminder to see his doctor might be the best way to show him you care this Father’s Day. In fact, the run-up to Father's Day is Men’s Health Week, which is organized by the Men’s Health Network to heighten awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.
The event reminds us that men are substantially less likely than women to have visited a physician in the last year, meaning any number of missed opportunities to spot potentially serious illnesses in their early stages. Our portfolio of patient-centered outcomes research projects includes a number of studies that address this challenge, as well as target health conditions that specifically affect men.
Men's Health Projects Funded by PCORI
For example, providing people the information they need to determine whether a particular type screening is right for them is one important way we are supporting men’s health. A PCORI Pilot Project being conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts is exploring how people interpret preventive screening guidelines and then assessing methods to help them determine whether they should undergo certain tests. The need for better approaches to making screening decisions is clear. A 2010 survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, showed that more 40 percent of men are not up to date on colorectal cancer screenings despite colon cancer being the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men in the U.S.
A research proposal approved under our latest funding cycle is another noteworthy project that seeks to provide men with better health information. The project, to be conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, will study treatment strategies for patients with Parkinson’s disease. Men are 50 percent more likely to develop the chronic condition, which affects nearly 500,000 Americans annually.
Many patients with Parkinson's do not have access to or do not see a neurologist, although studies show much better outcomes for those who do. The project we’ve approved will study the efficacy of an inexpensive web-based conferencing system, similar to Skype, that lets patients connect with neurologists without leaving their homes.
Improving treatment of prostate cancer, which will be diagnosed in one in every six American men, is another topic of great interest to us. We are funding three studies likely to uncover new information about the most effective methods for treating prostate cancer while taking into account a patient’s individual preferences. Too many questions still remain about the array of options available to treat this disease, including surgery, radiation, or “watchful waiting,” and the outcomes each is likely to produce. We’re among the few organizations with the resources to support the kinds of comprehensive studies designed to seek the answers to questions that matter most to patients when assessing these options.
Providing the Information Patients Need
Taken together, our fast-growing portfolio of research promises to provide new information that will better prepare patients and those who care for them to make difficult health and healthcare decisions. And our Engagement team works closely with our Science staff to help identify even more opportunities to address the critical health questions patients have.
For example, we plan a Latino Roundtable on July 23 to discuss future research directions for men's health in general and for this underserved population in particular. You’ll be able to listen in by phone. Watch our website for more details. You can help guide our work in this and other areas of research. If you have a men’s health research question you would like us to consider, we urge you to submit the question or topic through the Get Involved section of our website.
While you’re there, explore other opportunities to help PCORI provide fathers and those who love and care for them the information they need to make better-informed healthcare choices. Thank you for your support of our work, and Happy Father’s Day.