Cancer Control (Jul 2025)

Evaluating a Prostate Cancer Education and Navigation to Screening Program for Black Men in South Carolina, U.S

  • Marvella E. Ford PhD,
  • Melanie Slan MLIS,
  • Angela M. Malek PhD,
  • Claudia E. Lawton MDiv,
  • Jessica Zserai MSW,
  • I’Ayana Sanders BS,
  • Adam Pressley BS,
  • Mia R. Hilton,
  • Amber S. McCoy MHA,
  • Kenneth Swaringer MPH,
  • Rachel Anderson BA,
  • Charece Grizzard BS,
  • Ellen Gomez MA,
  • Joan McLauren MS,
  • Nhi Phuong Le MD,
  • Chloe Keeve MD,
  • Joie Zabec MD,
  • Marla Sagatelian MD,
  • Mariam Dawoud MD,
  • Jaha Brown,
  • Hazel L. Breland PhD,
  • Benjamin V. Stone MD,
  • Nicholas Shungu MD,
  • Melanie S. Jefferson PhD,
  • J. David Sudduth MBA,
  • Kapri Kreps MBA,
  • Lee H. Moultrie,
  • Larry J. Ferguson DMD,
  • Eric Wallen MD

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/10732748251364046
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 32

Abstract

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Introduction Prostate cancer death rates in the U.S. and in South Carolina (SC) are twice as high among Black men as they are among White men. In response, the Medical University of SC Hollings Cancer Center developed the SC Prostate Cancer Education and Navigation to Screening Program for African American Men (SC AMEN Program). Methods The SC AMEN Program included a one-hour, evidence-based prostate cancer educational session. To recruit participants, the investigators employed a convenience sample strategy, in which community champions volunteered to host the SC AMEN sessions in trusted community venues and recruited the participants for each session. A pre-test survey assessed prostate cancer knowledge using the validated PROCASE Knowledge Index. A post-test survey was administered following the educational session, after which participants were navigated by telephone over the next three months to schedule an appointment to discuss prostate cancer screening with a clinician. Results The 568 participants included Black (97.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%), Asian (0.2%), Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (0.2%), and White (0.2%) men, with 3.0% reporting Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. Age ranged from 40-69 years; 7.6% had less than a high school education, 35.7% completed high school, 18.1% completed some college, and 36.3% were college graduates. In the multivariable model, controlling for age, insurance status, and educational level, no statistically significant difference in the change in prostate cancer knowledge scores from pre-test to post-test was observed. Among the 568 SC AMEN Program participants, 475 participants (83.6%) either completed a prostate cancer screening (n = 266; 46.8%) or have scheduled a screening appointment (n = 209; 36.8%). The remaining 24 participants (4.2%) continue to be navigated to a screening appointment, and 69 (12.2%) have refused navigation. Conclusion The SC AMEN Program fostered the study participants’ appointments with a clinician to discuss their prostate cancer risk and need for screening.