A structural approach to examining prostate cancer risk for rural southern African American men

Physical, cultural, and social factors influence health risk and behavior, but few have explored how the environmental context affects African American men's prostate cancer screening and treatment. This paper describes a structural analysis of data from eight focus groups of rural, southern African American men (n=66). A structural approach highlights the interrelationships between individuals, the health service system, and community factors that directly and indirectly affect screening and treatment for prostate cancer. The availability of accurate and timely health information and health services, social norms regarding health and professional help-seeking, and the sociopolitical context shaped men's screening and treatment behaviors. These proximal and distal health factors affected men's prostate cancer knowledge, perceived risk, willingness to seek care and trust in the health service system. The findings suggest that prostate cancer screening and treatment occurs in a larger structural context that has important implications for help-seeking and health promotion.