A Survey of Knowledge About and Perceived Barriers to Prostate Cancer Screening Among Medical Staff

Abstract

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men and the second leading cause of deaths from cancer. Results of previous studies indicate the effectiveness of screening and early detection in reducing mortality from this disease. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to survey the knowledge about prostate cancer and perceived barriers to prostate cancer screening among medical staff of two universities in Ahvaz, Iran. Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 120 employees over 40 years old at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences and Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, who were selected by using simple random sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-created questionnaire based on the study of texts and other studies. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software and through analytical methods including descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The most common barriers to screening for prostate cancer were a lack of knowledge about where to go for tests and how screening tests are done (70.8%), a lack of emphasis on screening tests (59.1%), and a fear of thinking about the disease (50%). Results showed that there was no significant relationship between doing the serum antigen test and having knowledge regarding prostate cancer. But there was a significant association between prostate cancer screening and perceived barriers (P = 0.001). Conclusions: Results showed that whereas knowledge by itself cannot guarantee men's participation in prostate cancer screenings, perceived barriers can play an important role in discouraging men from cancer screening participation. Therefore, designing programs to address these barriers is very important.

Prostate Cancer Screening Behavior Based on the Health Belief Model in Men Aged Over 40 Years

“…In this study, the participants' knowledge of prostate cancer and screening behaviors were poor. Consistent with the present study, Barati et al (8), Zahir et al (12), and Akbarizadeh et al (24) showed a low level of awareness among their participants. In this regard, sufficient awareness and knowledge about prostate cancer predict screening behaviors, indicating that with promoting knowledge and awareness, prostate cancer screening behaviors also increase.…”

“…Individuals are more likely to perform this behavior when they consider themselves at risk for the disease (perceived susceptibility), perceive that the disease has serious consequences (perceived severity), and believe that preventive action has a positive outcome (perceived benefits), that the barriers to that behavior are fewer than its benefits (perceived barriers), and that they are capable of performing health behaviors (self-efficacy). Health Be-lief Model is one of the most accurate and important models used to predict health-related behaviors (11,24,25). The model is underpinned by this theory that individuals' willingness to change their health behavior is primarily due to their health perceptions.…”

Knowledge, Perception and Screening Practices Regarding Prostate Cancer Among Men in Oshodi Local Government Area, Lagos State, Nigeria

“…This finding is in line with the conceptual framework (health belief model) that participants' knowledge of the disease can affect their perception of the disease [11]. However, this study finding is at variance with the finding of [19] that no significant relationship between knowledge and prostate cancer screening, and it was reported that participants who had poor knowledge about prostate cancer were more likely to screen for prostate cancer compared with those who had good knowledge of prostate cancer [9].…”