Knowledge and attitudes of men about prostate cancer

Abstract

Objective: To ascertain the current level of understanding among older men about prostate cancer, including treatment options and their potential side effects. Design and setting: Questionnaires administered by general practitioners in five general practices in the Perth metropolitan and regional areas of Western Australia. Participants: Convenience sample of 503 men aged 40–80 years, with or without prostate cancer, presenting for routine consultations between January and August 2006. Main outcome measure: Knowledge and attitudes of men about prostate cancer, and predictors of knowledge. Results: Eighty per cent of men did not know the function of the prostate, and 48% failed to identify prostate cancer as the most common internal cancer in men. Thirty‐five per cent had no knowledge of the treatments for prostate cancer and 53% had no knowledge of the side effects of treatments. Asked how they would arrive at a decision about treatment, 70% said they would ask the GP or specialist for information on all their options and then decide themselves. Conclusion: There is a deficit in knowledge about prostate cancer among men in the at‐risk age group, encompassing areas that could delay diagnosis and treatment. Overall, the men preferred some GP or specialist involvement in treatment decision making.

Prostate specific antigen testing in family practice: a cross sectional survey of self-reported rates of and reasons for testing participation and risk disclosure

“…It is possible that men recruited at a family practice are more health conscious and thus more likely to undergo testing than those in the general population. A second possibility is that rates of testing uptake have increased over time, resulting in a higher reported rate of testing in the present study compared to the Slevin, Gattelari and Arnold-Reed studies [19,21,25]. Baade’s study was based on health service use data over a 12 month period, and so it is not possible to directly compare the current findings with the 21% testing rate they reported [2].…”

“…Gatellari’s study in Australian general practice patients also identified lower rates of testing with only 23.6% of men aged 40–70 years indicating ever having a PSA test and of those, 42% within the last year [25]. Baade’s study reported that 21% of men underwent PSA testing in 2006 [2]; while Arnold-Reed’s study in five family practices indicated that 59% of men aged 40–80 had undergone testing [19]. While this latter finding is closer to the present findings, the results are not directly comparable as no time-frame for testing was used.…”

“…Prior research suggests that men’s knowledge of the benefits and risks of PSA testing is poor [18,19]. The 2000 American National Health Interview Survey found that 33% of the 8087 participating men aged 40 or older reported having received a PSA test [20].…”

Evidence‐based uncertainty: recent trial results on prostate‐specific antigen testing and prostate cancer mortality

“…There is a clear need for more evidence on all effects of PSA testing. A greater understanding of decision making around PSA testing is also needed, 8 as is better information to help men and their doctors address the issue.…”

Men's knowledge about prostate cancer: a case study of rural Mhondoro-Ngezi, Kadoma District, Zimbabwe

“…Studies conducted among men in developed countries by Pereira et al (2010), Mostafa et al (2012) in Arabic communities and Nakandi et al (2013) in Uganda revealed that comprehensive knowledge of the clinical methods of prostate cancer screening is high, ranging from 50% to 66%. However, studies by Myers et al (1999), Woods et al (2004) and Arnold-Reed et al (2008) note that generally, African men lack comprehensive knowledge about clinical prostate cancer screening methods, the benefits of such screening and the age groups of men likely to be affected by the ailment. Consistent with the high level of awareness of prostate cancer in studies by Pereira et al (2010) and Nakandi et al (2013), between 63% and 73% of the respondents were aware that the risk to prostate cancer increases from 50 years of age.…”