Primary Care Physicians’ Lung Cancer Screening Beliefs, Self-Reported Practices, and Patient Influence (N=962)
| Measure | Unweighted n | Weighted % (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|
| Physician beliefs | ||
| Believes any expert group recommends lung cancer screening | 239 | 25.1 (22.2–28.2) |
| Believes chest radiograph is effective in reducing lung cancer mortality for | ||
| Never smokers | 269 | 27.7 (25.1–30.5) |
| Former smokers | 510 | 52.4 (49.0–55.8) |
| Current smokers | 468 | 48.0 (44.7–51.3) |
| Believes sputum cytology is effective in reducing lung cancer mortality for | ||
| Never smokers | 175 | 17.8 (15.7–20.2) |
| Former smokers | 273 | 28.3 (25.7–31.0) |
| Current smokers | 319 | 33.3 (30.5–36.3) |
| Believes LDCT is effective in reducing lung cancer mortality for | ||
| Never smokers | 325 | 34.0 (31.1–37.0) |
| Former smokers | 574 | 60.4 (57.2–63.5) |
| Current smokers | 634 | 66.8 (63.5–69.9) |
| Physician practices | ||
| Lung cancer screening tests ordered in past 12 monthsa | ||
| Chest radiograph | 530 | 55.3 (52.0–58.4) |
| Sputum cytology | 41 | 4.5 (3.3–6.2) |
| LDCT | 211 | 22.3 (19.9–24.9) |
| Patterns of lung cancer screening tests ordered in past 12 months | ||
| Chest radiograph only | 329 | 34.0 (30.9–37.2) |
| LDCT only | 34 | 3.6 (2.5–5.3) |
| Chest radiograph and LDCT, with or without sputum cytology | 167 | 17.8 (15.4–20.5) |
| Sputum cytology, with or without chest radiograph or LDCT | 21 | 2.0 (1.3–3.0) |
| None | 360 | 37.6 (34.9–40.4) |
| Unknown | 51 | 5.0 (3.7–6.7) |
| Patient influence | ||
| Number of patients who have asked about lung cancer screening in past 12 months | ||
| 0 | 293 | 30.3 (27.7–33.0) |
| 1–5 | 253 | 26.2 (23.2–29.4) |
| 6–10 | 174 | 18.4 (15.8–21.4) |
| 11–20 | 119 | 12.5 (10.5–14.8) |
| >20 | 108 | 11.1 (8.9–13.7) |
| Unknown | 15 | 1.5 (0.9–2.5) |
CI=confidence interval; LDCT = low-dose spiral computed tomography.
↵a Physicians responded to survey items asking, “During the past 12 months, to screen an asymptomatic patient for lung cancer, did you ever order…” None indicates negative response for all 3 tests.