Abstract

The objective of the study was to measure the level of awareness, specific knowledge, perception and screening behaviour of prostate cancer among males in a rural community of the Ikenne local government area of south-western Nigeria. The study was a cross-sectional design utilizing a pre-tested 36-item questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.62) to collect information about knowledge regarding prostate cancer, perceived susceptibility and seriousness, perceived benefits of screening and screening behavior among men in a rural community in south-western Nigeria. Three hundred and ninety eight participants were enrolled for the study by systematic random selection of men in the community of the Ikenne local government area. Results indicated that the mean age of participants was 44.24 (standard error of mean (SEM) 0.47) years. Knowledge about prostate cancer as an important disease in men measured on a 12-point scale recorded a mean score of 4.97 (SEM 0.15) and perception of prostate cancer considered in three sub-domains of susceptibility, seriousness and benefit, measured on a 30-point scale, similarly recorded a mean score of 17.65 (SEM 0.18); while screening behavior, measured on a 11-point scale, showed that participants in the study recorded a mean scored of 2.40 (SEM 0.071). Furthermore, 156 (39.2%) of the respondents reported having heard about prostate cancer while 377 (94.7%) had heard of breast cancer as a condition affecting women. The findings suggest that level of awareness about prostate cancer among men in this study was low while their level of perception was just above average and screening behavior was very low. Again, perception variables positively and significantly correlated with screening behaviour among the participants. We conclude that in order to stimulate regular screening among men, there should be an aggressive health promotion intervention designed to increase awareness and to correct impressions about prostate cancer in the community.