Prostate cancer awareness and screening practices among older men attending outpatient clinics in selected hospitals in cross river state, Nigeria - A pilot study

The incidence of prostate cancer is on the rise with the increase occurring more rapidly in developing countries which constitute a serious public health concern. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and ranked second as the cause of cancer related deaths. The objective of the study is to determine the awareness and screening practices for prostate cancer among older men attending outpatient clinics in selected hospitals in Cross River State, Nigeria. A cross sectional descriptive study, involving 50 participants purposively selected from three general hospitals in the three senatorial districts in Cross River State was used in this pilot study. The respondents were selected utilising inclusion criteria. Data collected through structured questionnaire was analysed using descriptive statistics and presented in tables comprising frequency and percentage. Result reveals 17(34%) have heard of prostate cancer; 4(23.5%) have carry out screening test to detect prostate cancer. Majority 3(75%) of those that carry out the screening tests conducted prostrate serum antigen test while 1(25%) did digital rectal examination. The result of the regression analysis shows that there is strong positive relationship between respondents level of knowledge and the utilization of prostate cancer test (r=.656). It was recommended that health promotion campaigns that emphasize prostate cancer screenings should be organized regularly.