Evaluation of the Relationship between the Levels of Knowledge about Prostate Cancer and the Anxiety-Depression Scale of Adult Individuals in Four Different Provinces of Türkiye

Abstract

Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men. The rate of early detection of prostate cancer is low in Türkiye. Therefore, it is important to measure the level of awareness regarding prostate cancer. In our research, we investigate the knowledge levels of prostate cancer among adult individuals in four different geographic region in Türkiye. In addition, we aimed to compare the level of awareness regarding prostate cancer and the depression and anxiety levels among the individuals. The prostate cancer awareness level survey was selected as the data collection tool. In the survey, 20 questions are asked to measure the knowledge level of the participants about prostate cancer. In addition, an evaluation of anxiety and depression was conducted by using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Between April 2022 and December 2022, 834 participants were reached.72.9% of the participants answered the questionnaire correctly. A significant difference was found in terms of correct response rates in four different provinces located in four different regions of Türkiye (79% in Eskisehir, 75.2% in Canakkale, 73% in Ankara, and 54.4% in Maras; p < 0.05). According to the HADS scale, 240 (28.8%) individuals were found to have anxiety and 129 (15.5%) of them had depression. The knowledge level of most of the participants about prostate cancer was found to be above the average. There was a significant difference between provinces in terms of knowledge levels. A significant relationship was observed between depression and knowledge level. However, no significant difference was found for anxiety. How to cite this paper: Sancak, E.B., Akinci, E. and Efe, S. (2023) Evaluation of the Relationship between the Levels of Knowledge about Prostate Cancer and the Anxiety-