Abstract C13: What strategies may be effective to address erectile dysfunction following treatment of prostate cancer in men of color?

Men of color in the United States continue to experience significant gaps in health conditions and mental health treatment options for cancer, diabetes and heart disease as compared with other ethnic groups. This is not a new issue, but rather a continuing problem that has plagued both the health and mental healthcare industry for decades. While all racial ethnicities are worthy of attention; African American men presenting with erectile dysfunction (ED) after treatment of prostate cancer in a mental health setting are the focus of this work. Reports of ED among African American men are far more common in medical settings and in these settings men in general and African American men in particular are rarely assessed for mental or emotional distress related to ED. In order for change to be possible to address mental health disparities in African American men, providers (urologists, oncologists, psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers, and counselors) must begin to acknowledge their own race in communication with this population to develop a therapeutic alliance. Clinicians skilled in cultural variations may not be skilled in discussions of sexuality and clinicians skilled in sexual concerns may not be skilled in discussions of culture and the impact of ethnicity on overall well-being. If strategies are not employed and tested the mental health disparities in African American men are sure to increase. In the present day, race relations are in grave danger of regressing into a history that has been challenged to change for centuries. The under-served are truly being under-served in this way due to the disproportionate numbers of clinicians, and perhaps more importantly; the lack of clinicians in training that are not taught to take ownership or create a relationship that invites differences rather than avoid it. The reason for this particular position and condition has been chosen is because of the relevance to current relations and history; along with the dire need to address sexuality in minority populations. Moreover, stereotypes of African American men as sexually “aggressive” and “weak” if they show emotions outside of aggression further stifle the exploration of etiologies of ED in this population. If strategies are not employed and rigorously tested mental and sexual health in AA will be rendered impotent.

Citation Format: Sanford Jeames, Shelley Imholte. What strategies may be effective to address erectile dysfunction following treatment of prostate cancer in men of color? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr C13.