A Community-Based Prostate Cancer Screening and Education Program for Asian American Men in Medically Underserved Communities

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 21; no. 4; p. 415
• Main Authors: Cho, Dalnim, Gor, Beverly, Hwang, Hyunsoo, Wang, Xuemei, Hernandez, Mike, Jones, Lovell A, Frost, Jacqueline, Roberson, Pamela, Pettaway, Curtis A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28-03-2024
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Asian - statistics & numerical data; Asian Americans; Early Detection of Cancer; Health Education - methods; Health insurance; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Indigent care; Male; Mass Screening - methods; Medically Underserved Area; Middle Aged; Prostate cancer; Prostate-Specific Antigen - blood; Prostatic Neoplasms - diagnosis; United States > US; prostate cancer knowledge; ethnicity; Asian American men; prostate cancer screening; community education
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21040415

This study analyzed data from a community-based prostate cancer (PCa) education and screening program (Prostate Outreach Project; POP) to enhance PCa-related knowledge among medically underserved Asian American men. It also examined PCa screening history, clinical abnormalities based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests and digital rectal examination (DRE) results, and follow-up and PCa diagnosis rates. Participants-521 Asian men (251 Vietnamese, 142 Chinese, and 128 South Asians)-were offered PCa screening using PSA tests and/or DRE and an educational session on PCa. Of these men, 277 completed PCa-related knowledge surveys before and after viewing an educational video. Significant between-group differences in PCa-related knowledge were found at pre-assessment (
< 0.001) but not at post-assessment (
= 0.11), at which time all groups showed improved PCa-related knowledge. Most participants (77.9%) had never received PCa screening, but Vietnamese men had the lowest previous screening rate (17.3%). Chinese men had elevated PSA values and the highest abnormal DRE rates. Of the 125 men with abnormal screening outcomes, only 15.2% had adequate follow-up. Of the 144 men diagnosed with PCa in POP, 11.1% were Asians (seven Chinese, six Vietnamese, and three South Asian). Despite the ethnic heterogeneity among Asian men, a community outreach program may successfully enhance their PCa-related knowledge.