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

Abstract Objectives 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. Methods 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. Results The mean survey score improved from 26.0% before the seminar to 73.3% after it ( P P P = 0.006). Previous screening for prostate cancer was reported by 23% of the participants. Using logistic regression analyses, higher levels of education and income correlated with higher rates of screening. After the seminar, 63.1% stated the intention to undergo screening. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that prostate cancer awareness and knowledge can improve dramatically after a 1-hour seminar on the topic. Additional studies to evaluate the long-term retention of knowledge and impact on behavior are warranted.