Commentary: Building an evidence base for promoting informed prostate cancer screening decisions: An overview of a cancer prevention and control program

Abstract

African American (AA) men have significantly higher mortality rates from prostate cancer (PrCA) than other racial groups. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify strategies for promoting informed PrCA screening decisions among this population. This article details the community-driven, social and behavioral research being implemented by a Statewide Cancer Prevention and Control Program (CPCP) to support the development of person-to-person and technological interventions to improve the dissemination of PrCA information to AA men and their families. This article concludes with four recommendations to advance future research and practice related to the use of interventions for promoting informed PrCA decision-making among AAs. These recommendations include: 1) informing men about controversial screening recommendations; 2) including families in educational interventions about PrCA; 3) using technology as a modality for disseminating PrCA information when appropriate; and 4) aiming to create interventions that can be translated into community and clinical settings.