Date of Conferral

2017

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Health Services

Advisor

Amy Thompson

Abstract

In 2016, prostate cancer was the second leading cause of fatality in the United States. However, the population in this study 'Black American men, ages 40 and older, in selected counties in Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Clayton and Atlanta metropolitan areas' tended to underutilize prostate cancer care. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental descriptive study was to determine whether socio-economic barriers and perceptions of Black American men about prostate cancer reduce their ability to access quality care in this county in Georgia. The Health Belief Model (HBM) was used to inform the predictive validity of perceptions, attitudes, and belief on individual health behaviors. Data were collected from 303 men through online and mailed researcher-made surveys that had been piloted using the demographic/medical background instrument; data from these surveys were then analyzed using frequency distribution and analysis of variance, coupled with Tukey's honest significant difference test. According to the results, 90% of the respondents stated that early detection and treatment were a perceived benefit of undergoing prostate cancer screening, and respondents perceived early detection, early treatment, and the reduced chance of dying from prostate cancer as the main reasons for undergoing the screening. A potential social significance to this study is that it provides information to health care providers and policy makers to better understand the patterns of Black American men and their motivation to seek early prostate cancer screening. Early screening could reduce costs, both economically and socially, associated with late diagnosis of this disease.

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