Prostate cancer: perceptions of African-American males

The purpose of this study was to determine black adult males' knowledge and perceptions of prostate cancer by using the Health Belief Model. The subjects were obtained by randomly approaching males in churches, housing projects, inner-city health clinics, and inner-city shopping centers in seven major Ohio cities. A total of 290 black males responded to the survey (58% usable response rate). The mean age of respondents was 60 years (standard deviation = 13.8). Subjects often did not identify trouble urinating, pain urinating, or blood in the urine as possible signs of prostate cancer. Less than half of the subjects knew at what age one should start to have prostate examinations. Forty percent did not believe they were more likely than most men to develop prostate cancer. Almost 60% did not know black men were more likely than white men to develop prostate cancer, whereas 45% thought that if they had prostate cancer it would kill them, and another 28% were not certain. The vast majority of respondents did not perceive any barriers to having their prostate checked, yet 19% identified cost of the examination as a potential barrier. Approximately 10% to 20% of the respondents were unsure of or did not agree with the benefits of a prostate examination. Analysis of the effects of age, education level, and income levels on the Health Belief Model variables found level of education had the most significant effect followed by level of income.