Abstract
B15
Background: African American men (AAM) experience great disparity relative to prostate cancer (CaP) mortality and morbidity. Unfortunately, very few AAM participate in annual CaP screening, a primary reason they present at a later stage of the disease and have poor survival rates. Although there are significant controversies about CaP screening, it is the only method recognized to combat CaP disease through early detection and appropriate treatment. This study explored AAM’s outcome beliefs and health beliefs about CaP. A secondary objective was the assessment of the characteristics of an intervention program (content, channel and source) likely to motivate AAM to participate in CaP screening. Methods: This presentation reports the results from a longitudinal CaP project. The data collection tool was the AAM CaP Screening Behavior Scale, which was developed from focus group interviews with 49 AAM. The study population was AAM age 40 and above. The data collection comprised two study phases. The first phase was the data collection for intrapersonal and interpersonal determinants of CaP behavior. The second phase was the assessment of actual CaP screening behavior among the first phase participants. For the first study phase, the survey forms were mailed to the 298 AAM who provided consent to participate in the study. Results: 191 AAM participated in the cross-sectional survey and 65 AAM responded to the follow up survey a year later. The participants were mostly AAM of American origin, between 50 and 59 years, had some college training, married, urban residents, had full-time employment status, and had a household income between $20,000 and $39,000. Over 90% of the participants believe that getting screened for CaP will save their lives, provide the information to make decisions about their lives, and motivate them to practice healthy lifestyle while less than 10% of the participants believe that Digital Rectal Exam will make them question their sexuality. Although, participants’ attitude towards getting tested for CaP was high, their beliefs about the chances of getting CaP, the seriousness and consequences of CaP were low. Interestingly, the top three factors participants identified as things that will affect their participation in CaP screening were: knowing the seriousness of CaP in AAM, knowing the benefits of getting screened, and knowledge about CaP. The top three factors found to be relevant for CaP screening intervention were: recommendation provided by African American doctor, CaP survivor, or family; information promoted through national health organizations, community outreach and church; and intervention messages that include the advantages and disadvantages of getting tested, explain what CaP is, and include how CaP affects the Black community. Conclusion: The results of this study are of special importance in the African American community given the powerful impact of health beliefs on health promotion and disease prevention. The outcome beliefs, health beliefs and communication preferences expressed by participants provide excellent information that can be used to design effective and culturally tailored interventions to educate AAM on CaP screening.
First AACR International Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities-- Nov 27-30, 2007; Atlanta, GA