Predictors of prostate cancer screening among African American men treated at an Academic Medical Center in the Southern United States
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: The controversy surrounding prostate cancer screening, coupled with the high rates of incidence and mortality among African American men, increase the importance of African American men engaging in an informed decision-making process around prostate cancer screening.
Purpose: To examine predictors of prostate cancer screening via the prostatespecific antigen (PSA) test. Secondary objectives were to examine whether African American men have been screened for prostate cancer; their confidence in making an informed choice about whether PSA testing is right for them; and whether they have talked with their provider about PSA testing and engaged in an informed decision-making process around prostate cancer screening.
Methods: We conducted a study among a sample of African American men patients ages > 40 years.
Results: A total of 65 men completed the questionnaire (response rate = 6.5%). The mean age of the men was 64.4 years. Most of the participants (90.8%) reported a regular healthcare provider and that their provider had discussed the PSA test with them (81.3%). About 84.1% of the men ever had a PSA test, but only 38.0% had one in the past year. Most of the men reported that they make the final decision about whether to have a PSA test on their own (36.5%) or after seriously considering their doctor’s opinion (28.6%). About 31.8% of the men reported that they share responsibility about whether to have a PSA test with their doctor. About half of the participants (49.2%) reported that they have made a decision about whether to have a PSA test and they are not likely to change their mind. The majority of the men (75%) perceived their risk of prostate cancer to be about the same level of risk as other men who were their age. The men’s knowledge of prostate cancer was fair to good (mean prostate cancer knowledge scale = 10.37, SD 1.87). Knowledge of prostate cancer was positively associated with receipt of a PSA test (p < 0.0206).
Conclusion: The modest overall prostate cancer knowledge among these participants, including their risk for prostate cancer, indicates a need for prostate cancer educational interventions in this patient population.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
References
- Woods-Burnham L, Stiel L, Wilson C, et al. Physician consultations, prostate cancer knowledge, and PSA screening of African American men in the era of shared decision-making. American Journal of Men’s Health, 2018, 12(4): 751-759. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988318763673
- Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, et al. SEER cancer statistics review, 1975-2009 Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute, 2012.
- Smith ZL, Eggener SE and Murphy AB. African-American prostate cancer disparities. Current urology reports, 2017, 18(10): 81-90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11934-017-0724-5
- American Cancer Society. Cancer facts & figures for African Americans 2013-2014. Atlanta: American Cancer Society, 2013.
- Powell IJ, Vigneau FD, Bock CH, et al. Reducing prostate cancer racial disparity: evidence for aggressive early prostate cancer PSA testing of African American men. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 2014, 23(8): 1505-1511. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-13-1328
- Holt CL, Le D, Saunders DR, et al. Informed decision-making and satisfaction with a church-based men’s health workshop series for African-American men: men-only vs. mixed-gender format. Journal of Cancer Education, 2015, 30(3): 530-534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-014-0731-x
- Pedersen VH, Armes J and Ream E. Perceptions of prostate cancer in Black African and Black Caribbean men: a systematic review of the literature. Psycho-Oncology, 2012, 21(5): 457-468. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.2043
- Dillman DA. Mail and Internet Surveys. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007.
- O’Connor AM. Validation of a decisional conflict scale. Medical Decision Making, 1995, 15(1): 25-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272989X9501500105
- Degner LF, Sloan JA and Venkatesh P. The Control Preferences Scale. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 1997, 29(3): 21-43. https://doi.org/10.1037/t22188-000
- Luque JS, Ross L and Gwede CK. Prostate cancer education in African American barbershops: baseline client survey results and differences in decisional conflict and stage of decision making. American Journal of Men’s Health, 2016, 10(6): 533-536. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988316630952
- Odedina FT, Scrivens J, Emanuel A, et al. A focus group study of factors influencing African- American men’s prostate cancer screening behavior. Journal of the National Medical Association, 2004, 96(6): 780-788.
- Barber KR, Shaw R, Folts M, et al. Differences between African-American and Caucasian men participating in a community-based prostate cancer screening program. Journal of Community Health, 1998, 23(6): 441-451. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018758124614
- Smith GE, DeHaven MJ, Grundig JP, et al. African American males and prostate cancer: assessing knowledge levels in the community. Journal of the National Medical Association, 1997, 89(6): 387-391.
- US Preventive Services Task Force. Prostate Cancer: Screening, May 8, 2018. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/document/RecommendationStatementFinal/prostate-cancer-screening
- American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society Recommendations for Prostate Cancer Early Detection. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/acs-recommendations.html
- Owens OL, Friedman DB, Brandt HM, et al. Digital solutions for informed decision making: an academic-community partnership for the development of a prostate cancer decision aid for African American men. American Journal of Men’s Health, 2016, 10(3): 207-219. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988314564178
- Agho AO and Lewis MA. Correlates of actual and perceived knowledge of prostate cancer among African Americans. Cancer Nursing, 2001, 24(3): 165-71. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002820-200106000-00001
- Sellers DB and Ross LE. African American men, prostate cancer screening and informed decision making. Journal of the National Medical Association, 2003, 95(7): 618-624.
- Winterich JA, Grzywacz JG, Quandt SA, et al. Men’s knowledge and beliefs about prostate cancer: education, race, and screening status. Ethnicity & disease, 2009, 19(2): 199-203. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2699598/
- Pedersen VH, Armes J and Ream E. Perceptions of prostate cancer in Black African and Black Caribbean men: a systematic review of the literature. Psycho-Oncology, 2012, 21(5): 457-468. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.2043
- Ukoli FA, Patel K, Hargreaves M, et al. A tailored prostate cancer education intervention for lowincome African Americans: impact on knowledge and screening. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 2013, 24(1): 311-331. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2013.0033
- Steele CB, Miller DS, Maylahn C, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and screening practices among older men regarding prostate cancer. American Journal of Public Health, 2000, 90(10): 1595-1600. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.90.10.1595
- Hararah MK, Pollack CE, Garza MA, et al. The relationship between education and prostate-specific antigen testing among urban African American Medicare beneficiaries. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 2015, 2(2): 176-183. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-014-0061-z
- Shavers VL, UnderwoodWand Moser RP. Race/ethnicity and the perception of the risk of developing prostate cancer. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2009, 37(1): 64-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.03.007