An Intergenerational Approach to Prostate Cancer Education: Findings from a Pilot Project in the Southeastern USA

Abstract

African Americans (AA) are more likely to develop and die from cancer than any other racial or ethnic group. This study assessed older and younger/middle-age African-American (AA) men's (1) knowledge and attitudes about prostate cancer (PrCA) and PrCA screening, (2) participation in clinical research, and (3) health and cancer-related decision making. Twenty-eight AA men (14 older, mean age 59.8; 14 younger/middle age, mean age 30.4) received a PrCA education program and completed pre/post education program surveys, as wells as qualitative post education interviews. Younger/middle-age men were more knowledgeable about PrCA and PrCA screening than older males. Older men reported being invited to participate in a clinical trial more often than younger males but were more likely to report that participation in clinical trials was risky and they did not plan to participate in medical research in the future. Younger/middle-age males were more willing to participate in a clinical trial in the future and reported fewer barriers to participation in clinical research. There is potential for using intergenerational communication strategies with older/younger AA male dyads in PrCA interventions.

Commentary: Building an Evidence Base for Promoting Informed Prostate Cancer Screening Decisions: An Overview of a Cancer Prevention and Control Program

“…For example, having an intergenerational, dyadic approach to delivering PrCA education could be effective for both younger and older AA men. 21 Younger men in our study were in their 20s and 30s, which account for some of the greatest users of technology. 21 Therefore, by having a better understanding of the disease and informational needs through a formalized PrCA education program, younger men may be able not only to encourage their older relatives to visit their providers to have a conversation about PrCA, but to keep them and their relative informed about the most up-to-date PrCA information online.…”

“…21 Younger men in our study were in their 20s and 30s, which account for some of the greatest users of technology. 21 Therefore, by having a better understanding of the disease and informational needs through a formalized PrCA education program, younger men may be able not only to encourage their older relatives to visit their providers to have a conversation about PrCA, but to keep them and their relative informed about the most up-to-date PrCA information online. On the other hand, older men who have been through the informed decision-making process can help to prepare younger men to make a PrCA screening decision.…”

“…Through this study, we discovered that younger AA men had greater gains in knowl- Informed Prostate Cancer Screening -Owens et al edge between pre-and post-tests and were more open to participating in research than were older AA men. 21 Therefore, we concluded that delivering our PrCA education program to younger and middle-aged AA men together could facilitate an exchange of information that may make informed decisions about PrCA screening easier for older men. This research has important implications for AA men given that they tend to be diagnosed with more aggressive disease at younger ages than EA men.…”

Partnering with the Public Library for Health Care Education: An Evaluation of Affordable Care Act Messages

“…AA participants identified best with the image of the pregnant couple, possibly because of the meaning they associate with familial relationships. For AA families, a family is a source of connection, legitimacy, support, information, and knowledge (Jackson et al 2014;Pipes McAdoo 2007). White participants also agreed and were engaged by the image of the father and the son; however, in this situation, they were more captivated by the image of the ACA Navigator.…”

Improving our messages about research participation: a community-engaged approach to increasing clinical trial literacy

“…Findings from this phase were important for informing CT recruitment and communication strategies in both urban and rural communities. For example, other qualitative work specifically examining AA communities' communication needs about cancer CTs [4,13] contributed to the development of a prostate cancer and research participation education program for AAs that was disseminated statewide [14].…”