Racial origin is associated with poor awareness of prostate cancer in UK men, but can be increased by simple information

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in UK men. We have shown a higher incidence and disease stage in black British men (unpublished), however there is no evidence regarding their awareness of prostate cancer and screening. We assessed the level of prostate cancer awareness and attitudes in Black and White men in the UK, and to see if written information would modify awareness. Information was collected from two groups of 871 men without prostate cancer using a new, validated, prostate cancer awareness questionnaire. The first group was asked to fill in the questionnaire, whereas the second group was initially given printed information on prostate cancer and requested to fill in the questionnaire. Data were compared between the two ethnic groups using SPSS statistical package. Changes in knowledge and attitudes after providing prostate health education were analysed. There was a significantly lower response from Black men. In the first group, Black men were unaware of their increased risk of developing the disease and demonstrated poor knowledge about the symptoms of prostate cancer (Po0.001) and also more negative attitudes about its control and treatment (Po0.01). In the second group, there were significant improvements in knowledge, risk awareness and attitudes following targeted education: this was true for Black and White men. Although Black British men have a high risk of prostate cancer, their knowledge of the disease is poor. Simple education methods can significantly improve awareness and knowledge in both Black and White men.

Cancer through black eyes - The views of UK based black men towards cancer: A constructivist grounded theory study

“…Two quantitative studies carried out in the UK have produced similar findings (Rajbabu et al, 2007;Waller et al, 2009). These two quantitative studies did not provide an explanation as to the reasons for this lack of awareness.…”

“…Although there is no evidence to suggest that black men have worse or better access to diagnostic services in the UK , they are less likely to attend screening (Austin et al, 2009;Rajbabu et al, 2007). The reasons for this discrepancy between the availability and utilisation of services by black men is unclear.…”

“…A recent systematic review suggested that, while black men bear the highest burden of the disease, limited efforts have been made to ensure they have access to relevant information to support them in making informed decisions to utilise early detection services (Pedersen et al, 2012). Further, studies have shown that there are inequalities between UK black men and the general population in levels of awareness about cancer screening, common risk factors and early warning symptoms (Rajbabu et al, 2007;The Prostate Cancer Charity, 2008;Waller et al, 2009;Webb et al, 2004).…”

Promoting men’s knowledge of cancer risk reduction: A systematic review of interventions

“…Furthermore, the intervention group (information leaflet) was able to identify more prostate cancer symptoms than the nonintervention group in a community-based study (mean symptom score 3.1 vs 2.3; p = 0.001). However, knowledge gain varied by ethnic group [33].…”

“…Participant ages ranged between 29 [33] and 91 years [34] and sample sizes ranged from 10 [35] to 1879 [36]. Studies were predominantly randomised controlled trials (RCT; n = 9) and prepost-test designs (n = 12).…”