Prostate cancer awareness and screening practice among Kenyan men

Despite globally increased awareness and widespread availability of screening tools, little is known about prostate cancer (PCa) awareness and screening practices in Kenya. To assess PCa awareness and screening practice among Kenyan men (age: 15-54 years), a cross-sectional study was carried out using Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS 2014) data. A subsample of 12 803 men was taken and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Overall, 7926 (61.9%) men were aware of PCa. Three hundred eleven (3.9%) men who were aware of PCa reported ever screening for PCa. A strong association was found by crude and adjusted logistic regression analysis between men's awareness and age categories [age: 25-34 years, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.32-1.73, P < 0.001; age: 35-44 years, 95% CI = 1.51-2.08, P < 0.001; age: 45-54 years, 95% CI = 1.70-2.44, P < 0.001] compared with men in the age category of 15-24 years. Similarly, an association was observed in men with insurance coverage with awareness (95% CI = 1.35-1.76, P < 0.001) and with screening practice (95% CI = 1.35-2.37, P < 001). Compared with illiterate men, men with primary education (95% CI = 1.82-2.72, P < 001), secondary education (95% CI = 3.84-5.89, P < 001), and higher education (95% CI = 9.93-17.38, P < 0.001) were more likely to be aware of PCa. Sociodemographically, richer (95% CI = 1.36-1.79, P < 0.001) and richest (95% CI = 1.62-2.27, P < 0.001) men were more likely to be aware of PCa than those in the poorest wealth index category. The awareness of Kenyan men of PCa is good. However, the PCa screening practice among Kenyan men is very poor. Hence, health promotion in a PCa screening program should be strengthened to improve public understanding about PCa, available screening tests, and the importance of early PCa screening.