Summary

In the UK, prostate cancer disproportionately affects black men more than any other ethnic group. Black men have higher incidence and worse outcomes of prostate cancer compared to their white UK counterparts.

They may present with prostate cancer at a much later stage during the cancer trajectory. This could be due to a lower awareness of the signs and symptoms of prostate cancer, an unwillingness to report symptoms, or a lack of trust of the National Health Service [NHS] – or a combination of these. Therefore the aims of this project were to raise awareness of prostate cancer in black communities in Basingstoke and to evaluate the engagement and raising awareness campaigns.

This project was funded by the Wessex Cancer Alliance, Action Hampshire and Health Education England. The project was led by Dr Obrey Alexis who is a Reader/Associate Professor at Oxford Brookes University, assisted by Dr William Garbrah, senior lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, and Dr Sarah Mansbridge, Research Assistant.

 

Methods

This project involved two phases. The first phase focused on raising awareness of prostate cancer in black men and their families/significant others. The awareness was delivered using public facing activities such as stands and talks with participants. Additionally, online raising awareness activities were undertaken with either black men alone or black men and their families. The talks involved providing information on prostate cancer, for example:

• what is prostate cancer
• facts and figures pertaining to prostate cancer in black men
• the risk factors and what participants can do to mitigate these risk factors

The awareness sessions were conducted by members of the research team.

The second phase of the project involved an evaluation of the raising awareness campaigns through interviews. A total of 320 black men and their families were involved in the raising awareness sessions and of these 12 black men were interviewed.

Conclusion

The raising awareness campaigns had a positive effect in terms of increasing participants’ awareness of the risk factors associated with prostate cancer.

Moreover the campaigns enabled them to make lifestyle adjustments that could help them to reduce their likelihood of developing this condition. Furthermore, participants’ knowledge was improved and this resulted in them becoming empowered and motivated to make a difference to their lives and that of the community that they serve through creating dialogues and sharing what they had learnt about prostate cancer.

Summary of recommendations:

• There is an urgent need for culturally specific information on prostate cancer in black men to become available in GP surgeries for the purposes of raising awareness of this disease to black men and their families
• In raising awareness and disseminating information about prostate cancer in black men and their families, the use of culturally specific events and gatherings should be considered
• The findings of this research also highlight the need to train and educate members of the black communities who could then act as community advocates to help spread awareness of prostate cancer within these communities
• A further recommendation of this research is to consider making PSA testing routinely available to all black men aged 45-years and above, in all GP practices as black men are known to have an increased risk of developing prostate cancer
• The use of social media and the creation of a website with culturally specific information to increase awareness about prostate cancer amongst black communities should be considered to further enhance black men and their families’ knowledge and understanding of the disease
• There is an urgent need to increase GPs’ and their employees’ awareness and understanding of the impact and risks of prostate cancer on black men. In doing this, it is anticipated that black men will be able to obtain a timely PSA test