Benefits, Barriers, Sources of Influence, and Prostate Cancer Screening Among Rural Men

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore 3 research questions: (1) What are the perceived benefits of screening for prostate cancer (PC)? (2) What are the perceived barriers to screening for PC? and (3) Is there an association with perceived benefits or perceived barriers and participants' reported source of influence related to prostate cancer screening (PCS) decisions? A nonexperimental exploratory design was used for the study. Sample included 94 rural-dwelling male participants aged 40 and older. The instruments used included an adapted version of Champion's (1999) revised Health Belief Model scale and a researcher-developed demographic and PCS patterns form. Both benefits and barriers were significantly associated with PCS and sources of influence. Health care providers and family were highly reported, at 81.8% and 59.5%, respectively, as sources of influence regarding PCS decisions. In this primarily African American sample, significant barriers to PCS among rural men were indentifed. PC health education may need to include family, whom study participants highly reported as a source of influence regarding their PCS decisions.