scholarly journals Word on the Street

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 377-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elinor R. Schoenfeld ◽  
Linda E. Francis

African American men face the highest rates of prostate cancer, yet with no consensus for screening and treatment, making informed health care decisions is difficult. This study aimed to identify approaches to empowering African American men as proactive participants in prostate cancer decision making using an established community–campus partnership employing elements of community-based participatory research methods. Community stakeholders with an interest in, and knowledge about, health care in two local African American communities were recruited and completed key informant interviews ( N = 39). Grounded theory coding identified common themes related to prostate cancer knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and responses to them. Common barriers such as gender roles, fear, and fatalism were identified as barriers to work-up and treatment, and both communities’ inadequate and inaccurate prostate cancer information described as the key problem. To build on community strengths, participants said the change must come from inside these communities, not be imposed from the outside. To accomplish this, they suggested reaching men through women, connecting men to doctors they can trust, making men’s cancer education part of broader health education initiatives designed as fun and inexpensive family entertainment events, and having churches bring community members in to speak on their experiences with cancer. This study demonstrated the success of community engagement to identify not only barriers but also local strengths and facilitators to prostate cancer care in two suburban/rural African American communities. Building collaboratively on community strengths may improve prostate cancer care specifically and health care in general.

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 699-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
JoAnn S. Oliver ◽  
Rebecca S. Allen ◽  
Morgan K. Eichorst ◽  
Lisa Mieskowski ◽  
Patrick J. Ewell ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anissa I. Vines ◽  
Jaimie C. Hunter ◽  
Veronica A. Carlisle ◽  
Alan N. Richmond

African American men bear a higher burden of prostate cancer than Caucasian men, but knowledge about how to make an informed decision about prostate cancer screening is limited. A lay health advisor model was used to train “Prostate Cancer Ambassadors” on prostate cancer risk and symptoms, how to make an informed decision for prostate-specific antigen screening, and how to deliver the information to members of their community. Training consisted of two, 6-hour interactive sessions and was implemented in three predominantly African American communities over an 8-month period between 2013 and 2014. Following training, Ambassadors committed to contacting at least 10 people within 3 months using a toolkit composed of wallet-sized informational cards for distribution, a slide presentation, and a flip chart. Thirty-two Ambassadors were trained, with more than half being females (59%) and half reporting a family history of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer knowledge improved significantly among Ambassadors ( p ≤ .0001). Self-efficacy improved significantly for performing outreach tasks ( p < .0001), and among women in helping a loved one with making an informed decision ( p = .005). There was also an improvement in collective efficacy in team members ( p = .0003). Twenty-nine of the Ambassadors fulfilled their commitment to reach at least 10 people (average number of contacts per Ambassador was 11). In total, 355 individuals were reached with the prostate cancer information. The Ambassador training program proved successful in training Ambassadors to reach communities about prostate cancer and how to make an informed decision about screening.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 884-893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer D. Allen ◽  
Ifedayo C. Akinyemi ◽  
Amanda Reich ◽  
Sasha Fleary ◽  
Shalini Tendulkar ◽  
...  

Routine prostate cancer screening is not recommended but African American men who are at higher risk for the disease should be offered the opportunity for shared decision-making with their health-care providers. This qualitative study sought to better understand the potential role of women in educating their male spouses/partners about prostate cancer screening. Nine focus groups were conducted ( n = 52). Women were recruited from a variety of community venues. Those eligible were African American and married to or in a partnership with an African American male age ≥ 45. Women provide numerous types of support to their male partners in an effort to facilitate participation in preventive health care. While women agreed that they would like to educate their partners about prostate cancer screening, they had little information about screening guidelines or the potential harms and limitations. The current findings suggest that women are eager information-seekers and can disseminate information to men and facilitate their efforts to make more informed decisions about prostate cancer screening. Women should be included in educational interventions for to promote informed decision-making for prostate cancer screening.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 155798831989245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otis L. Owens ◽  
Abbas S. Tavakoli ◽  
Theda Rose ◽  
Nikki R. Wooten

African American men have the highest prostate cancer-related mortality nationally. In response to this disparity, targeted interventions are emerging to enhance African American men’s prostate cancer (PrCA) knowledge to ensure they are equipped to make informed decisions about PrCA screening with health-care providers. African American men’s PrCA knowledge has been measured inconsistently over time with limited psychometric evidence. The factor structure of this construct in African American men is relatively unknown. This study describes the development and psychometric evaluation of an 18-item Prostate Cancer Knowledge Scale among 352 African American men. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using weighted least square mean and variance estimation with Geomin rotation. EFA yielded three factors: PrCA Anatomy and Screening (6 items), Risk Factors (5 items), Warning Signs (7 items) with good internal consistency reliability at KR-20 = .80 for the total scale and .64, .66, and .75, respectively, for each subscale. Factor loadings ranged from .31 to .86. The standardized root mean square residual (0.08) indicated that the factor structure explained most of the correlations. The three-factor, 18-item Prostate Cancer Knowledge Scale demonstrates that PrCA knowledge is a multidimensional construct and has utility for reliably measuring PrCA knowledge among African American men. Future research is required to confirm this factor structure among socio-demographically diverse African Americans.


2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 211-211
Author(s):  
M. M. Robinson ◽  
A. O. Sartor ◽  
L. Jack

211 Background: Informed decision making for prostate cancer health is widely endorsed but systematic programs to address this need are sparse. Herein we report initial progress in a statewide effort targeting African American men. Methods: The Louisiana Cancer and Lung Trust Fund Board (LCLTFB) Prostate Cancer Program is funded via a “check box” on the state income tax form, in which a portion of refunds could be allocated for prostate cancer efforts. The LCLTFB partnered with the statewide comprehensive cancer control program to develop a pilot lay program to educate men on prostate informed decision. The program was developed and modeled after “My Brother's Keeper,” a CDC funded program and implemented in five regions of the state. African American men active in the cancer community and regional cancer coalitions were identified as possible trainers for the program. Staff members from “My Brother's Keeper” trained the Cancer Control regional staff, as well as the community trainers in a two day session. Upon completion, the community trainers were charged to go into their community and convene three education sessions. Educational sessions were conducted in local churches, head start centers, men social club meeting, Greek organizational meetings, and labor union meetings. Men attending the session received a short pre- and post-test assessing whether or not they had discussed prostate informed decision making with a health care provider, if they had made an appointment with a health care provider, or was any follow up from the educational session initiated. Results: A total of 250 African American men in Louisiana were educated by the program. Upon followup phone calls, 172 men self-reported that they had initiated some form of follow up as a consequence of the participation. 35 men were unable to be contacted for follow up (number no longer in service or no phone number listed) 43 men (messages left but no returned call). Conclusions: Peer education can engage African American men regarding informed decision making on prostate cancer health issues. More data are needed to verify and determine the type of followup that was initiated after the educational sessions. [Table: see text]


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 708-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Levi Ross ◽  
Tyra Dark ◽  
Heather Orom ◽  
Willie Underwood ◽  
Charkarra Anderson-Lewis ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 409-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo D. Moore ◽  
Jill B. Hamilton ◽  
George J. Knafl ◽  
P.A. Godley ◽  
William R. Carpenter ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to determine if a particular set of health behaviors of health care providers and African American men (AAM) influence patient satisfaction from the AAM’s perspective. This descriptive, correlational study consisted of 505 AAM in North Carolina diagnosed with prostate cancer and enrolled in the North Carolina–Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP). Analyses consisted of bivariate analyses and multiple regression. Patient-to-provider communication, interpersonal treatment, and provider-to-patient communication accounted for 45% ( p ≤ .0001) of the variability in patient satisfaction. Interpersonal treatment (provider focusing on the patient) explained the greatest amount ( F = 313.53, R2 = .39) of patient satisfaction. Since interpersonal treatment focuses on the patient and demonstrated to be the strongest predictor in patient satisfaction, it is noteworthy to consider the emphasis that should be placed on patient-centered care. In addition, knowing important variables positively affecting patient satisfaction provides useful information for developing appropriate interventions to improve AAM health care experiences.


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