A pilot study of the knowledge, awareness and perception of prostate cancer in Ghanaian women

BACKGROUND: The African prostate cancer epidemiological trend has reported the late detection of the disease and resultant high mortality rate. Considering the economic position of the African continent, which often contributes to high mortality, it has become imperative to investigate cost-effective means of improving the timely detection of prostate cancer. This study, the third developmental phase of a robust Akan tool, aimed at conducting an external pilot survey to investigate the practicability of the tool in studying prostate cancer awareness in women. METHOD: The study was conducted in one of the biggest markets in Ghana employing a quantitative approach and recruiting 400 females from the age of 18 years. Post-ethical approval and study subjects’ consent, the participants randomly responded to the Akan tool and the data was electronically entered in the presence of the participants. The data, entered in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, were analysed with the SPSS software (version 25). The results were presented as frequencies and percentages, with an assessment of the tool’s reliability. RESULTS: A Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of 0.9030 was calculated. The majority (83.50%) of the participants belonged to the Akan tribe and were fluent in the Akan language. None of the knowledge items on the signs and symptoms, and risk factors of the disease had correct responses from more than 25.00% and 20.00% of the participants respectively whilst knowledge items on the causes of prostate cancer received varied responses. The participants were aware of the disease and had a positive perception. CONCLUSIONS: The pilot survey adequately tested the Akan tool and suggested various modifications to the tool and the study methodology. The tool exhibited acceptable reliability and could be applied to targeted populations to investigate the awareness of prostate cancer in women.