Exploring Racial Differences Surrounding Prostate Cancer Screening: Beliefs and Attitudes in Community Dwelling Men Attending an Urban Men’s Health Event

The purpose of the study was to explore attitudes/beliefs in men attending an urban health fair to explore barriers to prostate cancer (PCa) screening. Five hundred and forty-four men attending the PCa booth at the fair in 2014 or 2015 completed questionnaires about PCa. Data were examined using Pearson’s χ(2), Fisher’s Exact, and Wilcoxon rank tests after grouping men by African American (AA) and non-African American ethnicity. Three hundred and twenty-six (60%) men were AA and two hundred and eighteen (40%) were non-AA (89% white). Median age (54 vs. 56 years) and prior PCa screening were similar between AA and non-AA; income (p = .044) and education (p = .0002) differed. AA men were less likely to have researched prostate-specific antigen (PSA) on the internet (p = .003), but more used TV (p = .003) and media (p = .0014) as information sources. Family members had a stronger influence over screening decisions for AA men (p = .005). After reading PSA information, AA men were more likely to still be confused (p = .008). A higher proportion of AA men were less worried about dying from PCa (p = .0006), but would want treatment immediately instead of watchful waiting (p < .0001). Interestingly, a higher proportion of AA men indicated that they would prefer not to know if they had PCa (p = .001). Ultimately, more AA men had a PSA done (98.4% vs. 95.1%; p = .031). When considering screening eligible men, a higher proportion of AA men had an abnormal PSA (13.1% vs. 5.3%; p = .037). AA men’s beliefs surrounding PCa differ from non-AA men, and should be considered when developing culturally appropriate education, screening, and treatment strategies for this group.