ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of prostate cancer and screening and its associated factors in young Black men aged 18 to 40 years. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a convenience sample of 267 young Black men in Austin, Texas. Knowledge about prostate cancer and screening was operationalized through 14 items, including 12 items from the Knowledge about Prostate Cancer Screening Questionnaire (PC knowledge), and two items assessing dietary knowledge and prostate cancer screening controversy. PC knowledge scores were regressed on age, cues to action, health screening experience, and demographic/personal factors. Most participants were African American men of American origin (65.3%) and were college freshmen (18.9%). PC knowledge scores were low, with mean correct responses of 28.5%, mean knowledge score of 5.25 ± 3.81 (possible score range of 0 to 14, with higher scores indicating higher PC knowledge) and a median score of 5.00. On average, 47% of the respondents replied "Don't Know" to the questions. Overall, PC knowledge scores were low among these young Black men, especially in domains related to risk factors, screening age guidelines, limitations, and diet. It is thus important that these men be educated more on these important domains of prostate cancer and screening so that the decision to screen or not will be an informed one. Health screening experience, residence area, major field of study, and academic classification were significant predictors of knowledge.
Subject(s)
Black or African American/psychology , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Mass Screening , Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnosis , Adolescent , Adult , Cross-Sectional Studies , Early Detection of Cancer , Humans , Male , Risk Factors , Surveys and Questionnaires , TexasABSTRACT
This study was conducted to identify the salient behavioral beliefs of young Black men toward prostate cancer screening, and to identify the issues surrounding their comfortability with prostate examinations. A total of 20 Black men, aged between 18 and 40 years, participated in three focus group sessions between June 2013 and July 2013 in Austin, Texas. Participants were asked open-ended questions about: (a) the advantages and disadvantages of screening to identify salient behavioral beliefs about screening and (b) issues that would make prostate examinations comfortable or uncomfortable to identify comfortability factors. Focus group discussions were tape-recorded, transcribed, and content analyzed to identify emerging themes of salient beliefs and comfortability. Also, nine salient behavioral beliefs toward prostate cancer screening were identified, and eight factors were linked to comfortability with prostate examinations. Given the increase of prostate cancer disparity as a public health issue, understanding the beliefs of Black men of prescreening age (18-40 years) may be crucial to the effectiveness of future interventions to improve screening when recommended at later ages.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Black men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, with higher stage and higher grade at presentation. Evidence suggests that for education in health promotion behaviors (such as screenings) in early adult years, young Black men can be better equipped to make informed decisions in later years. OBJECTIVE: Using the theory of reasoned action (TRA), we assessed the intention of young Black men to screen for prostate cancer when it is recommended and determined its correlates. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 267 Black men aged 18 to 40 years. A 47-item questionnaire collected information on demographics/personal factors, attitudes toward prostate cancer screening, social influence, comfortability with prostate examinations, cues to action, health screening experiences, knowledge of prostate cancer and screening, and intention. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables and hierarchical logistic regression was employed to determine significant predictors of prostate cancer screening intentions. RESULTS: The regression model accounted for 46% of the variance in intention (p < 0.01), with excellent perception of health, having private or public health insurance, longer regular source of care, positive attitude, positive social influence, positive cues to action, and higher knowledge levels being significant predictors of intentions. CONCLUSION: This study provides support for the use of TRA in predicting prostate cancer screening intentions among young Black men when it is recommended by a physician. Findings may inform the development of empirical-based interventions to educate and inform at-risk young Black men about the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening so that they can make informed decision on screening when recommended later in life.
