A Qualitative Study to Determine Barriers for Prostate Cancer Screening in Rural African-American Men

African-American men have higher rates of prostate cancer and more advanced cancer when diagnosed than men of other ethnicities.

To explore the perspectives and shared experiences of rural African-American men when it comes to interactions with healthcare providers, shared decision-making, and information on prostate cancer and screening.

A convenience sample of African-American men in four rural counties in the southeastern United States agreed to participate. Semi-structured interviews of 43 men were conducted in patients' homes, classrooms, offices, and local churches. Lincoln and Guba's (1985) naturalistic approach was used.

Analysis of the rich, in-depth narratives gleaned from these African-American men revealed three themes: 1) limitations in knowledge of prostate cancer, 2) poor patient/provider communication, and 3) deficient health literacy skills.

Participants' perspectives about limited knowledge regarding PCa, variation in provider-patient communication and the finding of low health literacy skills expand knowledge, inform clinical practice, and provide evidence for further investigation to better provider communication and patient education concerning PCa and decision making in this population.