Health Risk, Behavior and Attitudes of Urban African American Men Toward Prostate Cancer Screening

Samuel, Prauttus K., Health Risk, Behavior and Attitudes of Urban African American Men Toward Prostate Screening. Master of Public Health (Community Health), May 20, 2006, 84 pp., 10 tables, 1 illustration, 72 references. In Texas, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among non-Hispanic whites and African American (AA) males. This thesis addresses the research questions: what psycho-social characteristics associated with men who participate in prostate screening? What psycho-social and clinical characteristics are associated with reported risk factors? Focus groups were conducted to identify attitudes, perceptions and health beliefs of African American men’s early detection behavior. Existing data from a prostate screening program in Dallas County, Texas was analyzed to determine associations of demographic variables, risk factors variables and screening participation for each subgroup with AA as the group of interest. Comparison of responses and data analysis provided the framework for a conceptual model.