Educating African-American men about prostate cancer: impact on awareness and knowledge

• Published in: Urology (Ridgewood, N.J.) N.J.), 2003-02, Vol.61 (2), p.308-313
• Main Authors: Wilkinson, Simon, List, Marcy, Sinner, Michael, Dai, Lanting, Chodak, Gerald
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; African Americans - education; African Americans - psychology; African Americans - statistics & numerical data; African Continental Ancestry Group; Aged; Attitude to Health - ethnology; Biological and medical sciences; Female; Health Education - methods; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; Mass Screening - psychology; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Prostate-Specific Antigen; Prostatic Neoplasms; Sex Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tumors of the urinary system; Urinary tract. Prostate gland
• ISSN: 0090-4295; 1527-9995
• DOI: 10.1016/S0090-4295(02)02144-1

To determine whether an education program on prostate cancer could improve awareness and knowledge among African-American men. African-American men have the world’s highest incidence of prostate cancer and more than twice the mortality compared with white men. Screening programs for prostate cancer have not been successful in attracting African-American participation. One explanation is a poor awareness and knowledge about the disease among this high-risk population. We surveyed 900 African-American adults attending prostate cancer education seminars in community settings throughout Illinois between March 1998 and January 2001. Participants were asked to complete a multiple-choice questionnaire on topics related to prostate cancer. The main outcome measures were a change in awareness and knowledge of prostate cancer after the 1-hour educational seminar. The mean survey score improved from 26.0% before the seminar to 73.3% after it ( P